Jougen
by evidently-emily
Summary: About a few things I was certain of Sasuke Uchiha was a vampire, part of him thirsted for my blood, and that I was uncontrollably and irrevocably in love with him. [SasuSaku. Twilight based. AU.]
1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

Hello! This is my 6th story for the Naruto fandom. I co-wrote the series, which I'm not sure is finished just yet, "Mistakes We Knew We Were Making" and "Oh, The Summertime" with MarMar17. I also wrote two KibaHina oneshots (one of my new favorite couples ( :), called "We Were Once Dreamers" and "You Make Me Smile, Kiba-kun." I've also written a few other stories for Fruits Basket, InuYasha, Grey's Anatomy, and other things...but my two main fandoms at the moment are Fruits Basket and Naruto.

This story came to me when I was thinking about the series of books that Jougen was based off of, the Stephanie Meyer series, Twilight. It's not gonna be exactly like the series, but I'm giving you a major hint...Bella is supposed to be Sakura. Obviously, this is an AU, and the personalities are gonna be slightly bent. I'm an update whore as most of you who have read my stories before know, so just read this, and if you like it, story alert it.

So sit back and relax, because it's time for Jougen! I have some sequels in mind, if this story gets recieved well! By the way, 'Jougen' means first quarter of the moon, or at least this online dictionary says. XD

**Dedication:**

Marley, the first chapter goes to the best friend, always.

**Inspiration:**

Stephanie Meyer, Jesse McCartney songs, the library, Halloween, Youmacon, excitement, love.

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

* * *

"You don't have to do this, Sakura." 

I turned around from standing at the foot of my bed, a suitcase full of clothing that was supposed to last me until I came home from my father's house was sprawled out in front of me. I swallowed, pushing a lock of my hair behind my ear. I wouldn't respond, we had had this discussion before. I did have to go. My mother was a newlywed, she needed some time to have the chance to do what she missed out on with my father.

"It's fine, Mom," I replied in a monotone voice, zipping the suitcase shut. I had been just an infant when the divorce went through, and the cause of it hadn't been because my father had thrown a vase at my mother's head, or because my mother was in love with another man at the time. They were young, foolish, stupid, in other words—in love. They didn't make a big deal about it, but obviously I needed my mother. "It's not a big deal." I said with a shrug.

"Well, do you need Hachi to help you with your bags?" My mother asked, swallowing back tears. I felt my muscles tense, she wasn't going to cry, was she? Oh great, when my mother went on a crying jag, there was no telling when it would end. And I didn't have time to console her, I had a plane to catch.

I shook my head at her question. "It's not that heavy." Were the lies just spilling out today or what?

I walked past her, hauling down the bag that I had. I had packed light, not expecting to be bored. Besides, if I hauled five thousand pounds of CDs, movies, books and whatever else, would it make my father feel bad? Probably. Or maybe if I did, then it would look like I really was staying for a while. Great, there I go, over thinking things again.

I loaded my bag into the back of the car, and slid into the front seat before my mother could protest anymore. The way she looked over at me when she slid into the car with her car keys jingling, hanging from her hand, I knew she was about an inch away from chaining me to the house from leaving. I didn't want to break her heart, but I didn't want to stay here either, I'd just be getting in the way.

My mother started up the car, and slowly the engine purred back to life. We began driving towards the airport in silence. I felt my whole body wait on stand by, waiting for her to rebel. But, as surprising as it was to me, she didn't pull over to the gas station and try to coax me out of the car, to come home. The only sound in the air was the compilation of Whitney Houston, Madonna, and the occasional old J-Pop, that seemed to always be playing. Usually the sound nauseated me, but I was thankful for it right now.

I wasn't sure whether to feel a wave of relief when the airport started to come into site, or whether to feel nervous. I didn't remember my dad's house, all I remember is cold and rain, nothing like sunny, warm, which was the climate that I not only favored, but the climate I lived in.

My mom didn't have to tell me we were there, because we were pulling into the busy parking lot. I never really did like airports, honestly. Not that I had been too many places that needed air transportation, really. Whenever I thought of airplanes, I thought of leaving. And leaving anything was a fear of mine.

The car seemed to navigate itself towards a parking spot. This is it, this is the beginning of my leave. The thin lines of worry on my mother's face were trying not to be there, but I saw them, quite apparent as I stepped out of the car. I opened the trunk and got my bag, patting the pocket of my jeans. Good, boarding pass and ticket, still there.

I pulled out my boarding pass as we walked towards the entrance. Gate 4. Well, that made no sense to me. That's what I get for not being a heavy duty traveler. Thanks, mom. Really. I laughed out loud awkwardly at my joke, and thank god it was too busy inside the airport for my mom to hear me and decide that it was better for me to go to a nut house rather than my dad's.

"Want a coffee, or some ramen?" She offered. I inwardly wrinkled my nose. That was like offering someone some vodka or sugar cookies, or beer and scones. It just didn't match. Yuck. My stomach was rumbling, but I'd rather eat the peanuts on the plane when the combination left my mind rather than eat now.

I shook my head in response. "No thank you."

"Where's your gate?" She inquired after she had left me to go buy herself a mug of coffee.

"Gate four." I repeated.

We walked along in silence, but I could feel my mother's worry. What was wrong with her? She obviously trusted my father, because she had been grilling me for years to take one of my school vacations to see my father. Apparently at the time she had just been filling her quota of divorced mother, but now that that was a reality, she was really…nervous?

Well, not that that was a surprise. My mother was the type of mother that always freaked out when I was home five minutes past curfew. She didn't let me out in the sun for too long with out slathering me in sunscreen and being adorned in a baseball cap and then another slathering session of sun screen.

"Well, here we are," We had been walking so aimlessly, that I hadn't even realized that we were right in front of the gate to the airplane that would transport me to my new home, away. I swallowed, reminding myself that this is what I wanted. I wanted my mom to get the chance to be a newlywed and oogle over food processors and pot handlers, and not have to worry about the angsty teen daughter in the background.

I nodded, smiling weakly. I was exhausted from the packing spree, and I was starting to have second thoughts. If some kind of suicide bomber or pack of crazy wild hounds or a group of crazy vampires came in and attacked, then I knew that my step-dad would help my mother. I smiled, leaning in and giving her a hug, a real hug. I hadn't given her a hug like that since I was seven years old, and I could tell I was out of practice.

I'm not much of a feel-y type of person, if you can tell.

I looked at my only carry-on item, a tote bag with a winter coat, a few books that Kouhei, or my father, had told me were on the reading list for school, even though I had read at least all of them three times. Oh, and a package of gum. I hated when my ears popped.

My mother tried to hide her misty eyes, and since she wanted to over look it, I decided I would too. "Bye, mom," I smiled. "Hachi will take good care of you, I promise."

She smiled and waved and I began to walk off. It felt weird, I had never been away from my mother for long. Maybe a weekend for a school trip to the beach or something at the end of the year, but never this long. Oh well, it's not like I wouldn't be supervised. And I'd get to know Kouhei—I mean, Dad—a little bit better when we're not distracted by Easter eggs or Christmas lights.

This wouldn't be so bad, I decided. At least, it won't seem so bad once the stewardess hands out the peanuts.


	2. Enter Kouhei

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time. First I had Halloween, then there was an anime convention that I was going to. Which was amazing, by the way. Let's see, I know that this is short...and the POV is going to be 3rd person. At least, that I know of. I know that it's short, I'm really sorry...I just have a lot on my mind. Tomorrow there's no school, so hopefully I'll get into the swing of this story. Hopefully. Gah. xD

**Dedication:**

Kyle and Jiyong,Youmacon was amazing!

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

* * *

Sakura Haruno stood in the crowded New York airport, her feet tapping. It was just like her father to be like this, to be late. She didn't know her father well, but after a few glasses of wine or just when she was in the mood to rant about the world being such a cruel, harsh place—Sakura would hear some, well, colorful stories about her father. Her mother never was one who wanted to keep her mouth shut. Perhaps Sakura had inherited that element, as well.

The plane had landed almost two hours ago. Sakura had been dead nervous on the plane, and she had been reluctant to exit the plane, but some three year old kid had sneezed early on in the flight. And, you know what they say about air circulating over, and over, and over on a plane, and all Sakura could think about was inhaling toddler snot. Sakura was so hungry that her stomach literally felt hollow. She glanced at her suitcase, how much longer would he be?

Sakura left her suitcase close to an airport police officer, and rummaged around in her pocket and produced a few crumpled dollar bills and a few lonesome coins. Sakura exhaled deeply and stared up at the fluorescent-lit menu. "I'll have a coffee. And a bagel." She said, looking down at the dollar. "Scratch the bagel." All she needed was some caffeine. Even if she was on the verge of utter starvation, she could at least handle it, if she was awake.

Sakura took the styrofoam cup, the contact to her hand made her shiver. She didn't bother thanking the security guard, since he hadn't moved from his position since she left, and it wasn't like she had even asked him to babysit her bag while she ordered food. Err, coffee. She hauled the back to the seat that she had left, which was still unoccupied, fortunately. Sakura was way too exhausting at the moment.

"Sakura?"

It was human nature for someone to raise their head when someone called their name. She wasn't going to ignore it, so she did just that, looked up. In front of her was a man that she instantly recognized as her father. She hadn't seen him since four years ago when he stayed at a hotel near the house for Christmas, but then had to leave because he got called back. Sakura's father, Kouhei, was a record label producer, and part of the reason that Sakura rarely saw him.

"Hi, Ko—Dad." Sakura had gotten so used to calling him by his first name, that calling him 'Dad' would be more than awkward.

Sakura was glad that he opted out of the awkward homecoming hug, and instead took her bag from her and held it effortlessly. Since when had her Father gotten to be so strong? Oh well, there were probably lots of things that she didn't know about him, that she'd learn about him on this trip, vacation, life, whatever it's called.

He asked her a few half-hearted questions that seemed mandatory as they walked along. How school was, did she have a boyfriend, how were her friends. Sakura replied each and every one of them, as painful as it was—she was acing all of her classes, she laughed at the boyfriend question, and mumbled something about her friends. Sakura didn't have many friends back home. Or should I say, back at her old house.

They approached a small car, that wasn't too stand out-ish. Not a sports car, and not a mini-van. Sakura wouldn't feel exactly comfortable cruising around with her middle aged father in a sports car, and certainly not a mini-van, either. The radio was on while they drove, but it was light jazz. Nothing like the pop queens that her mother had on constantly.

Sakura decided to stare out the window at the passing buildings, a sigh escaping her lips.

The car suddenly pulled into a drive way and Sakura snapped out of her haze.

"Here we are, at my humble abode," Kouhei said with a hint of proudness in his voice. Sakura whipped her seatbelt off and walked around the car to get her bag, but her father had got it first.

Sakura didn't protest. She decided to enter the house first, noting the weeds and the gravel practically coating the entire outside. So yardwork wasn't something he was into. Great. Sakura looked around the small, dirty house.

"Well," She said, setting down her purse and wiping her hands on the back of her jeans. "It's gonna need some work."


	3. First Day of School

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! So here's your chapter. The last chapter was short, I think it was only like 765 words or something, so I wanted to get this chapter up as soon as possible. Usually at this time I have school, but I had school off today...but of course, I never sleep in. If you've never err, 'read with me' would be the phrase, I suppose, then you don't know that I'm basically a noctural insomniac. No joke, even my own dad asks me if I ever sleep. xD Anyway, my mom does make me go to bed after a certain point...or else I would be updating every second. For those of you growing impatient, more characters will make their appearance soon, I promise! Next chapter I suppose you'll start seeing Sakura interact with more people than her own mind.

Tomorrow I will be going to Chicago with the choir from my school to see "Wicked", and we won't be back till 12:20, and I could try writing a chapter on the bus...but I can't bring my computer with me, and I also don't have a laptop. xD So, here's the chapter. Yepp. xD

**Dedication:**

Kristyn, her birthday is on the 13th!

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

* * *

Sakura had to be blunt—she was appalled at the selection, or the nonexistent selection of food at her father's house. She knew the excuses—he lived by himself, he was a single man. But really, come on. He was still a living human being, whether or not he was married, or seeing anyone, or single. The girl stood before the pantry, her hair in a tangled mess, and a pair of flannel pajamas adorning her body. In exactly two hours she would be starting school, and that thought was enough to twist her stomach. But, she had to eat. It was either that, or get through half the day and wish she had eaten breakfast.

"Good morning, Sakura," Kouhei traipsed down the steps, dressed in a crisp suit with his reddish, silver tinted hair combed and slicked back. He stepped over a pile of old newspapers and then over an empty Big Apple Bagel bag. "School starts soon."

"Two hours," Sakura crisply replied, pushing a travel coffee mug in front of him. She had managed to navigate a bag of coffee beans and a coffee maker in the mess of the house, and she thought it would be a nice gesture to prepare a coffee for her father. If he did eat, since judging by this kitchen, it seemed apparent that healthy eating wasn't really something her father was worried about. Or eating in general. "Are you going to work?"

"Yep," Kouhei replied, grabbing his brief case, or more like rescuing it from a pile of papers on the kitchen table. Sakura felt goosebumps rise on her arms in disgust. She wasn't the most clean, organized person in the world…but this was a hell hole to her. "Big meeting, we're finally signing that new artist."

The words meant absolutely nothing to her, but Sakura felt like it was her duty to nod her head. She stared up at the digital numbers on the clock. She honestly did not feel like getting ready just yet, but after she sorted out the rat's nest on her head, picked out her clothes, and then tried to figure out what was appropriate to bring for lunch, the minutes would fly by, and she would only be left with four minutes to work with, versus four.

"Well, I should get going now," Kouhei said, excusing himself. Sakura nodded, turning away in a selfish manner to keep her from giving him a hug. She had made him coffee, in the future it could turn into a hugging sort of relationship, but not right now. "Have a good day at school."

Sakura finished putting away the dishes, and decided to scrub off some of the grime from the kitchen counter. Did it really take a woman in the house to have to show a man that he needed to wipe the counter down after he cooked? Sakura shook her head, she had made a promise to herself a long time ago that love was out of the question. She would graduate, go to whatever college accepted her, and would study whatever she was told to. Nothing more.

Some people were destined for great things, but Sakura Haruno had a pretty good idea that she wasn't.

She dumped the last of the dishes into the sink, leaving them with the procrastinating thought that she would finish them later. She pranced up the stairs, unbuttoning her pajamas and tossing them in a pile. Sakura knew that she would get home before her father and be able to pick up the mess, but even if he did come home before her, she highly doubted that he would walk into his pig-sty of a house and see Sakura's pajamas laying in a heap on the floor.

She walked into her bedroom, the only room that she had somewhat saved on her first night there. It had been her bedroom when she was little, her mother had told her, but she knew that it had to be. Sakura had instantly recognized the frilly yellow curtains that hung limply and faded from the sun. Apparently her father had gotten his thinking cap on and traded the crib for a nicely sized queen sized bed with a canopy.

She had wanted a canopy for her bed, when she was eleven. Oh well, at least he was trying, it was the thought that counted, right? Sakura pushed open the closet, she had her insomnia to thank for getting all of her clothes into the closet and dusting it out, after much sneezing. She had moved the boxes of photographs and memories that her father had shoved into the closet, hoping that she could sort them out for him while she was here. Sakura wasn't a snoop, but even she was a little anxious to see what was in those boxes.

The young pink-haired beauty stood with her arms folded across her chest, scanning over her clothing. She could go all out and crazy, but then she'd have everyone looking at her. Which would be awful, because they'd already know that she was Kouhei Haruno's daughter, and then they'd be staring at her crazy attire. She stared down at the pair of black courds, plucking them from the hanger. She slid them over her thin limbs, buttoning them with ease.

Next came on a long sleeved white shirt with her blue argyle sweater vest over that. She walked quietly over to the mirror, wincing. She looked like a teacher. She ripped off the shirt and the vest, and went back to square one. She finally settled on a red long sleeved t-shirt, no words, no pictures. She didn't know what was 'in' in this school, but it wasn't like she cared. She didn't care back at her old house, and she wouldn't care here.

The next few minutes went by in a blur, Sakura picked up her old routine from home—comb her hair, straighten the few wisps that just wouldn't hold their place, brush her teeth and gargle with listerine. She looked at herself in the mirror, staring her own piercing emerald gaze right back at herself. She closed her eyes, not even bothering with make up. It wasn't like she owned a lot—a few sticks of eyeliner, a bottle of crusty XL mascara, two lipglosses and some other random cosmetics.

Sakura picked up her back pack, containing her cell phone, money, a lunch, and all of the supplies that the teachers had e-mailed to her father. Kouhei had been an alumni from this school, and most of the teachers had recognized him, which meant to Sakura that they were all ancient. Sakura quietly walked down the stairs, locking up the house and beginning to walk to the school. She hadn't been looking forward to walking, and even though it hadn't rained, she had a feeling that some random car would whiz by and splatter mud and puddle water all over her outfit.

But surprisingly, the walk seemed to calm Sakura. She breathed in the fresh morning air, and it acted as a toxic product, clearing her mind. That was, until she saw the school come into her eye site. Kids piled from buses and their parents cars, racing into school to meet up with their friends. She wasn't nervous, she wasn't nervous, she wasn't nervous. But, no matter how many times she tried to tell herself that, her mind just wouldn't convince itself. She took a deep breath, and maneuvered past the students, not daring to look any of them in the eye.

She followed the signs to the main office and felt her cheeks burning with anxiety and the wind whipping at her from outside. "Haruno, Sakura. I'm a new student here." Sakura explained to the secretary, tugging at the bottom of her shirt.

Instantly, the secretary became flushed and she stood up. "Ms. Haruno, welcome to our school!" Excitement was apparent in her voice. "Would you like water, coffee?"

Water or coffee? Now Sakura was confused. She politely shook her head.

"Here's your schedule, you can come back and see me if you need anything," The secretary grabbed Sakura's hand and shook it. Sakura left the office faster than a speeding bullet.

So far Sakura's first impression of the school was this—it was unlike any other school she had been to. 


	4. Encounter

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter. Yesterday I got back from "Wicked" and it was awesome. I had to wake up at 5:30, so I wasn't too happy about that...but it was okay. xD The buses were awesome, Marley and I sat together and first we watched "The Holiday." Holy sheet, dude. I love that movie. Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, and Jack Black are some of my favorite actors, too. Anyway, so we ate lunch at Navy Pier and then headed over to the show. I LOVED it! I got to meet the cast afterwards to, and they were so nice! I loved them all! And then we started home and stopped on the way to eat dinner. It was hectic, and I wish we would've stayed longer in Chicago after 5 1/2 hours each way, but it was still fun! Anyway, here's your chapter! Over 1,000 words baby.

By the way, I'm gonna get a "Wicked"-song based one shot up soon...hope you guys will read it! I'll give you a hint, it's gonna have Ino and in it. xD

**Dedication:**

Maddie D., I love your parents, and you knowso much about Wicked!

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

* * *

Sakura held the schedule in her hand with the same intensity that Charlie would've held his golden ticket. Not that the piece of paper in her hand that contained everything from a map to her locker combination to her classes and everything in between was as important as a golden ticket. The "welcome" packet resembled more of a slip to get laid off, or some kind of piece of paper that you really, really, really did not want.

Sakura stared down at the first class. English. The bell rung, and kids began piling out of their classrooms. "Well, apparently I won't be going to science today." She grumbled, looking around as people stumbled about the hallways, hand in hand, walking side by side. She took a deep breath and managed to maneuver her way past cliques and athletes, nerds and Abercrombie-worshippers. The locked was number 250 in the long line of lockers.

She took a deep breath and stared at the locker, quickly twisting the combination in and staring at the empty space. She noticed that kids around her had pictures and memories taped, glued, and plastered to the inside. Sakura's felt bare, and she tried to remember what her locker at her old school was like. Well, for one thing they were bigger. Sakura stared at what seemed like a shoe box of a locker in front of her. She quietly began unloading her books.

"Excuse me."

Sakura hadn't been expecting anyone to talk her today except for teachers to basically ask her what the hell she was doing there in teacher lingo. But now she heard a voice of someone that sounded way, way, way too young to be a teacher.

She looked up to see someone with a black, bowl cut like hair cut. She stared at him for a few moments. "Yes?" She asked, surprised that her voice had spoken with out her brain commanding it too. The boy was dressed in a pair of nicely pressed jeans, hole-free. Which, she had to admit, was a refreshing change. It seemed like Antartica here compared to Sakura's old home, and almost every girl was dressed in a mini-skirt or some kind of tight fitting clothing and all the guys had some kind of holes in their pants.

Some of them might be natural, but if that was the case, Sakura didn't want to know how they got some of those rips. His hair covered his eyebrows, which Sakura had to admit seemed just a little bit on the bushy side. He had on a blue and white, light striped long sleeved shirt with all the buttons buttoned up, perfectly. He smelled heavily of cologne, and the young teen had to keep from choking.

"I'm Rock Lee. But, you can call me Rock. Or Lee. Or just Rock Lee." Was he really blushing?

"Oh, nice to meet you, Rock," Sakura replied, extending her hand. She had to admit, even if he was on the weirder side of things, he had done what no one else had done yet today, introduced himself. "I'm Sakura Haruno."

"Oh, I know." The statement caught Sakura so off guard, she almost fell back onto the kids behind her. "I mean, I don't know know. I'm not a stalker or anything. Heh," O-okay then. "But, a lot of people have been talking about you coming. And, yeah."

The last possible thing that Sakura wanted to hear right then was that people had been talking about her arrival. So now she wasn't just the freaky pink haired girl, but she was also the girl that was being talked about. Fan-fucking-tastic. So much for fading into the shadows at this school, she was gonna be a full-blown celebrity in no time.

"Oh, well, that's cool." Cool was not the adjective that Sakura wanted to use, but she had to inwardly bite her tongue from spewing out something else like, do you people really have no lives or what?

"Yeah." He replied, glancing down at his gold watch. "So, what's your next class?"

Sakura really didn't want to make conversation with this bowl-headed Rock-guy any longer, but she felt the need to. She took the schedule in her hand and stared it down for a few moments. "World Study," She replied, answering his question. "With Mr. Kazaka."

"Oh!" The yelp came a little too soon, and caught Sakura off guard. He blushed, but Sakura used the excuse in her mind that she was grabbing a book from her locker, and plucked the Shakespeare novel that she had planned on using to guard herself with at lunch, and set it down on top of the pile of books in her hand. "Me too. I'll walk you."

Sakura didn't understand why, but she knew that she was walking to class with this, strange boy, but she was, and she was never one to really be mean to someone. Not like Sakura was in any position to turn down company. She shut her locker once more, twisting the lock. He didn't bother her with many questions on their way to the classroom.

Thankfully, the bell rung and Sakura lingered in the front of the classroom, waiting for the teacher. All eyes felt like they were on her, and Sakura prayed hard as she could that her face wasn't beet red. Was it just her, or was it getting really, really, hot in here?

"Alright, alright class, settle down," What entered into the room was a man that looked not much older than 30. He was dressed pretty…cool for a teacher. Sakura blinked, and he managed to realized that there was some random girl that wasn't heeding his announcement. "Oh, you must be the new student. Sakera Haruno, welcome." He smiled.

"It's Sakura," Sakura replied, her voice piping up. It came out weird, but she was just happy her voice didn't crack or something.

"Excuse me, Ms. Haruno." He said, not sarcastically but he threw on a fake British accent that had Sakura smiling…on the inside. "You can take a seat next to ah, Mr. Uchiha!"

He pointed to an empty seat next to a pale boy. Sakura had to force herself to stare at the carpeted floor to avoid looking at him. His skin was white, well not white white, but pretty pale. And his eyes, those, black coal eyes with somehow every other color tied into them.

"Hi." Sakura offered weakly, a small smile on her face as she unzipped her pencil case and took out a pencil.

"Hi." A gruff response was back.

And then they sat until the end of class, the boy not moving an inch in his seat, sitting on the edge of his seat as if he was ready to pounce on something. Sakura swallowed as the bell rang, collecting her stuff. This would be an interesting class.


	5. Lunch

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter. I wrote this chapter during 2nd hour of school on Friday, but I tried to e-mail it to myself and the access was blocked. I hope I don't get in trouble on Monday, eesh. Today my sister had her Robotics meet thing, and I stayed for what...twenty minutes? Ha, anyway, today's also her birthday party and for some reason I'm having difficulty focusing on anything. Is today like ADD day or something? Bah, I don't know. But here's your sucky chapter. xD

**Dedication:**

Olivia, today's her birthday party, after all.

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

* * *

So far, the day hadn't been exactly terrible for Sakura. She hadn't fallen, okay, well she had a small trip outside of the gym, but it was more a stumble than a flat out fall. And, the gym teacher wasn't as mean as her old one, which was an added bonus. Since Sakura had opted for nice, comfortable shoes instead of a pair of Nikes or Pumas, she didn't exactly have the right shoeware to do push ups or run laps. The coach hadn't been thrilled, but he let Sakura sit and file papers. She had gotten a total of three paper cuts, but that was way more fun than trying to play soccer in her 'nice' clothes.

Now, it was lunch time. Sakura knew because of two things. First, her schedule said that lunch was now. But, even if it hadn't said it, she could have easily gussed. People were piling down the hallways with lunch money ringing in their pockets and paper bags gripped in their hands. Sakura was feeling a little nervous about this lunch thing—not many people had talked to her today. There had been that Rock Lee kid, a few random kids in her classes, and of course, the teachers.

Sakura slammed her locker, looking down at the lunch money. She was starving, but at the same time, she was not looking forward to reading "Hamlet" and stuffing her face with pizza and canned green beans with the rest of the losers in the back of the lunch room. Sakura turned on her heels, when she laid eyes on Rock Lee, again.

"Oh, hey," He had definitely caught her off guard, but at least she wouldn't have to walk by herself to lunch. She cracked a small smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing really," Rock Lee replied, his voice full of enthusiasm that he was almost trying to hide. Sakura walked along with him, sighing inwardly. She couldn't wait until school was over. She'd have to read a chapter of "Number The Stars" for English, then she'd get to clean, e-mail her Mom back to assure her that she hadn't been abducted, and then she'd get to collapse. "Hey—I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Why don't you eat lunch with my friends and I?" He inquired, hands stuffed into the pockets of his unusually clean jeans.

Sakura almost denited the inquiry. She would feel on the edge, like she'd have to make conversation with Mr. Bowl Head, as nice as he was instead of hiding behind the brilliant words of William Shakespeare. But, Sakura again was in no position to turn down his invitation. As she began to answer, she hoped that there wouldn't be Rock Lee clones awaiting her in the lunch room. "Sure. That sounds great."

They walked down the hallway, and Rock Lee complained a little bout about how they didn't have next Monday off when the next county had the day off. Sakura nodded, half-listening but half-concentrating on the bright posters and fliers that littered the hallways. This was what a high school looked like a movie, with cheerleaders holding their Pom-Pom's during lunch and football players adorned in their jerseys, with nerds holding onto pens and notebooks.  
The lunch room looked like an absolute zoo. Sakura found herself clinging, with no hands, to Rock Lee for fear of being whisked off by a goth. "This is it," He said, setting his lunch bag down on the table. Sakura laid eyes on five kids sitting at the table. "This is Kiba, Hinata, Temari, Gaara, and Chouji." He said, smiling.

"Hey." They all chorused.

Temari and Hinata scooched over so that their was a perfectly sized space between them for Sakura. Sakura took this as an invatation and sat down next to the blushing and the blonde. "I'm Temari, and this is Hinata." The blonde said.

"Hello." Hinata squeaked in reply.

"Sakura." Sakura smiled.

"So, you're Kohei Haruno's daughter, right?" Temari asked, stabbing her Caesar said with a plastic fork.

Sakura nodded. "That's me." She replied with a small wince at the force of Temari's stab.

"Well, that's something," Temari smiled. Sakura couldn't depict the tone of her voice. "How do you like our school so far? I mean, I know that it doesn't match up to the Swedish boarding school that you came from or something."

"I didn't go to a Swedish boarding school or anything like it," Sakura quickly interjected. "And I like it. It's nice."

"Mmm." Temari raised her eyebrows, shooting a quick glance at Hinata who giggled. Kiba, Chouji, and Rock Lee were already in some conversation about an upcoming bonfire and Gaara was sitting quietly with headphoes on.

Sakura's eyes caught five teenagers walking into the room, taking their place at a table behind the one Sakura was sitting at. She recognized one of the boys instantly, Sasuke Uchiha. A brown haired girl, a blonde girl, and two other males accompanied them. They had no food, but the fact that they were all breathtakingly gorgeous over ruled that strange detail.

Sakura felt her eyes lingering over Sasuke, since she hadn't really gotten a chance to look at him before, for fear of having to look in those big, coal, empty, intimadating eyes. The others were laughing, but the most emotion that he showed was a smirk.

"Who ya looking at?" Hinata asked, looking over at the table, then back at Sakura.

"Who…who are those people?" Sakura broke her stare at the table and looked back at the two girls that she was sitting with.

"Oh, the Uchiha's. That's Ino, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Tenten, and Neji." Temari said, leaning back, stretching her arms out and then going back to her Fiji water. She took a gulp, and then set it down on the table. "Why?"

Sakura turned her glance back at them, they all looked like…a clique. But they were siblings? They looked closer than that, but at the same time, they looked nothing alike. Sakura suddenly felt Sasuke turn in his seat and stare back at her, his empty eyes locking with her frightened, entranced ones.

Sakura gasped and quietly turned away.

"Oh my god," Temari breathed, pushing the ¾ empty salad plate in front of her and leaning her chin against her propped up palm. "Sasuke Uchiha was staring at you. He never stares at anyone."

"It's not a big deal." Sakura quietly replied, looking down at the table.

She couldn't get out of that place fast enough.


	6. Project

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter. Today my sister had a bone scan, but they had to give her an IV and she got so nervous that she passed out! Anyway, Marley's mom went with her, and I'm so thankful because I wasn't really feeling well earlier today and I almost went. I'm glad that my mom didn't have to go through that by herself, and that Marley's mom was there to help her. So, today I feel bi-polar. It's probably because Marley and I were singing The Emo Kid song at lunch.

PSST, guess what guys? The whole rest of the story is plotted out. Somewhat. xD

**Dedication:**

My second mother.

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

* * *

It had been almost a week since Sakura's first day of school. And honestly, it wasn't that bad. She was beginning to think that she was starting to get everything down—who to avoid, who to seek out. Who not to sit next to, and who to make sure to next to. She always made sure to navigate one bathroom and not the bathroom if she had to go, and of course to not buy the Chilli Cheese fries. Yuck, who knows what kind of processed cheese was used to make that?

The bell rang just as Sakura slammed her locker shut. She glanced down at her arms, full of books and things. She sighed, scurrying off to class. Thankfully, Mr. Kazaka was running late, probably fetching his coffee from the teacher's lounge. Sakura slid into her seat, looking out of the corner of her eye. Sasuke was there, reading. The title was hidden, and Sakura wasn't about to look like a fool even more by trying to do some little song and dance to figure out what the title was.

"Alright, alright class, sit down," Mr. Kazaka entered the room with a mug of freshly brewed coffee, via the tin of Maxwell's House and the coffee machine hidden in the teacher's lounge. The few kids lingering away from their seats reluctantly slid into position. Mr. Kazaka sat down on his desk, legs hanging off the edge. "Who did their homework last night?"

About half the class raised their hands, Sakura included. Call her old fashioned, but she thought it was best to finish her homework in the first week of school, especially. Mr. Zazaka scanned the sorry results, shaking his head. "That's disappointing. I guess I'll have to assign a project."

Sakura almost participated in the loud chorus of groans, but decided against it. Her eyes caught a flash of movement from Sasuke, stretching his legs out in front of him and cradling the back of his hands with his palms. What was it about him that had caught Sakura's eye? It wasn't like she had a crush on him, right? She just…he just…he interested her. That was the best way to describe it.

"What you'll be doing is doing the pro's and con's of abortion," Mr. Kazaka hopped off his desk and took his position in front of the chalk board, writing down the topic. "Each of you will get a side to write on, whether it's Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. I understand that this is a heavy topic, and if any of your parents have any problems, then they should remember that this is next in our curriculum, okay?

"If you happen to get the opposite of what you believe in, my deepest apologies. Your job is to present an argument, and to try and convince people," He said with a smile. "To make this easy, just work with the people next to you. This will be due…" He paused for a moment to write the date on the board. "Next Monday. So, this should give you plenty of time to get it finished. Right?" He asked, with a laugh. "Now, you may begin working."

He set the chalk down on the ledge that came out from the chalk board, and apparently that was a signal for chairs to shift and people to begin chatting. Sakura took her time slowly angling her chair towards Sasuke. Well, this would be better than just staring at him, right?

"Hi," Sakura smiled. She wasn't much of a smiley type of girl, but she thought that that might butter him up and to get him to stop acting so uptight. "I'm Sakura. Again."

"I know, we met before," Sasuke nodded, shifted his chair, and faced Sakura. Their knees were only inches away from each other, and for some reason that excited Sakura. "Ha."

"Oh, right, sorry," Sakura replied, rubbing her lips together and then looking at him. "Do you want to be Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?" She asked. It was better to just get down to the point right now. There seemed to be no hope, and she didn't want to waste her time with small talk.

"Pro-Choice." He replied, leaning back in his chair a slight bit, crossing his arms over his chest. This gave Sakura an opportunity to see what he was wearing. A black turtle neck-like sweater was covering his body, and a pair of jeans pulled over his legs. His hair was black, straight, hard to describe. She cleared her throat, crossing her legs.

"Okay. I'll be Pro-Life, then." She said with a nod. Well, that was good. She had wanted to be Pro-Life, anyway.

"Have any reasons?"

"Well, of course," Sakura said, now that she was starting to get into this whole debate thing, she uncrossed her legs so that both of her feet were firmly planted on the ground. "First of all, I don't believe in that whole 'well she was raped' thing. If you're raped, then that's awful. But, that's a life inside of you. Why would you want to kill it?"

Sasuke sat up straighter, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "You have a point there, Sakura," He smirked, taking the challenge. "But, it's the woman's body. Why should the government have a say in what women do with their bodies? I'm surprised, you as a woman should really be siding with pro-choice."

"Not all women think the same." Sakura replied, smirking.

"I know."

"What?" Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"Nothing, nevermind."

The bell rang before they could get any thing else out.

"I guess it's time to go." Sakura replied.

"Yep." He said with a smirk. And then he left, and Sakura didn't know what was coming over her.

But she was pretty sure that she was starting to like this Sasuke kid.


	7. Fog, Break Problems, and another Uchiha!

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter. I'm going to be in New York starting on 11/19-11/25, so I will be hopefully getting the chapter's that were due those days up before I leave. This chapter was almost five pages on Word, but it's only 1,495 words. What a disappointment. xD Our school had seventh grade assemblies today, and the guy's saw some presentation about weight lifting and shizz. And the girls saw this clique play by the Jewish ensemble team. I had seen it once before, and it's actually pretty good. Of course, it was hard for the girls at my school to see the meaning in it, but it was written so perfectly to things that happen almost all the time at our school. OH, and I got my Halloween pictures, but not pictures from Wicked. -sniff-

**Dedication:**

Aunt Debbie!

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto. Unfortunately.

* * *

Monday mornings had never been Sakura's cup of tea. She had never really been into the whole, 'wake up sunshine!' thing. In fact, she was more of a night person. Which, came in great handy since after coming here she had developed a pretty bad case of insomnia since she had moved here. Just because she was in a new school, her morning haziness had not let up for her, unfortunately.

Sakura pulled into the parking lot, sitting on her bike. Yes, I said a bike. Her dad might not be a cheap guy, but he had made no attempt to give Sakura a car, rather even bring up the subject. And, that was one discussion Sakura did not want to start. She hooked her bike into an empty bike rack, not bothering with a lock. If she got her bike stolen, say la vie. Maybe then Kouhei would take pity and buy her a car.

The air was frosty and thick, not Sakura's cup of tea, either. She adjusted the black scarf tied around her neck, and sighed. She was so exhausted, and she had spent hours cramming for a science test that was today—and had given up after she reached the joints to go watch Boy Meets World re-runs. She had only studied a fraction of the things that she needed to, but she honestly did not care. She wasn't planning on becoming a doctor, and therefore didn't think she had to know what each joint connected to.

Suddenly, Sakura saw a car begin to back up, but the driver obviously hadn't seen her in the heavy fog that had blanketed what seemed like the whole city. It had caused her to fall off her bike three times on the way to school, so it was no surprise that the high school driver's were having trouble with it. Sakura didn't know how to move, the car was moving rapidly fast, or what it seemed like. It was like her feet were implanted in the snow.

Then, suddenly, someone ducked and stopped the car, or maybe they hadn't. Maybe at that exact moment that someone jumped on her that the driver had break-ed the car.

Sakura clamped her green eyes shut, feeling someone's body hovering over her, the body heat traveling down to her, so she could feel it almost as if it were an actual blanket. When she opened her eyes, she saw…Sasuke? Hoards of crowds of people gathered around the scene, and Sasuke quickly shed his black leather coat and put it under Sakura's head.

"What are you people staring at? Call a freakin' ambulance," His voice didn't sound excited, or scared in the slightest bit. Just…antsy. Sakura had thought she was dead, really. But, imagine her surprise when she snapped out of her haze and then looked at Sasuke.

"What happened?" She asked quietly.

"Haru's breaks slipped, and you didn't move." Sasuke replied, his voice cold, but there was a hint of relief in his voice.

"Wait, you weren't here when that happened." Sakura replied, thinking aloud as the memory began coming back to her. "Who saved me? Wait, did you push me out of the way?"

"I was here," He stated briskly, taking his hands away from her head. "Yes, I did push you out of the way."

Sakura wasn't about to call her self-proclaimed savior a liar, especially since it was Sasuke…but if Sasuke Uchiha, her new 'friend' waved at her, she definitely, and I mean definitely would have noticed it.

"Oh, well, thank you," She replied, trying to sit up but the pain struck so bad, she had to lay back down. "Ouch."

"Don't try to move, you'll just hurt more," Sasuke instructed. "And, someone called an ambulance."

Out of the corner of Sakura's eye, she swear she saw shoulder imprints in the bottom of the car. But, that was impossible. He might have had a hoard of fan girls, and contrary to popular belief, Sasuke wasn't immortal or anything. Before Sakura could try to get up and inspect it further, an ambulance's lights flashed and she was whisked off in a stretcher.

The two paramedics loaded Sakura into the van, and she watched. But, before they shut the doors, Haru, Sasuke, Rock Lee, and Temari slipped in. Sakura was way too tired to protest, but she wished that they would all just get out. Everyone was talking at once, and the pain of her ear's ringing was far worse than the slight neck ache from the whip lash that she had gotten.

"I am so fucking sorry, Sakura. Are you hurt?! Gah, ugh, err." Haru's frantic voice hinted that he was a step or two away from fainting. Hmm, good thing they were on the way to the hospital, anyway.

"Of course she's hurt, you moron! Why do you even have your license? Do you mow over people every day?!" Rock Lee shouted.

"Oh jesus, I knew Hinata should have come to school today," Temari said with a sigh. "Can I get you anything Sakura?"

Sasuke was silent.

Sakura wanted to talk, to tell them to all shut the hell up. Even Sasuke's silence was loud, for Christ's sake. But, the short trip to the hospital had everyone running behind each other, with Sasuke casually lingering behind at his own pace, into the Hospital.

When Sakura awoke, she was in a Hospital room, in a stretcher. An IV was attatched to her arm, and the site of it made her cringe. Needles, ugh. Of course, it's a little strange for her to be totally, unphased by the whole idea of her almost becoming road kill and she was freaking out about a needle.

Sakura looked up, and saw Sasuke sitting in a plastic chair that was pushed against the wall. She stared at him for a few moments, thinking he'd say something, but he didn't. He was staring at a book, the cover page hidden from her.

"Oh, you're awake." It was almost as if he had sensed her awakening. He shut the book and set it down on the ground beneath the chair. "You've been sleeping for two hours."

"Two hours?" Sakura gasped. "Why are you still here, then? And where's Rock Lee and Temari and Haru?"

"They went back to school." Sasuke nodded.

Sakura hadn't been expecting, or hoping, for any of them to stay. Alright, well, maybe Sasuke. He hadn't really bugged her, ever. Except for when he ignored her, that's when she got annoyed.

"Did anyone call my dad?" She asked, looking down at what she was wearing. A hospital gown? She gulped. That meant that someone changed her out of her clothes, and she almost passed out. Hopefully it had been some old, plump nurse that had changed her, and not Sasuke. Oy vey.

"We left a message."

"Oh." Sakura replied. There was a few moments of silence. "Sasuke…I have a question."

"Ask away."

"Well, when we were by the car…I saw shoulder marks in the bottom. I know I'm going to sound completely insane, but…" Well, it was a little late for that wasn't it? "Did you…er…?"

"Sakura, that's ridiculous," Sasuke replied, looking away. He was acting suspicious, but Sakura's body was so exhausted that she wasn't going to argue.

"Ah, I see that we're awake," Into the light stepped a man that was completely gorgeous. He looked to be in his mid-40's, dressed in a doctor's attire. His grin radiated beauty, and his whole chiseled body made Sakura want to sigh over and over and over again. "How are you feeling Ms. Haruno?"

"Good, thank you…" Sakura's voice trailed off.

"Oh, you were unconscious last time I saw you," The doctor chuckled a melodic laugh. "I'm Doctor Kakashi Uchiha."

Uchiha? Sakura looked over from Kakashi to Sasuke, and saw absolutely no resemblance.

"Not much of a resemblance, eh?" Kakashi smiled once more. "Anyway, you seem to be fine," he flipped through the charts that he had in his hands, licking his lips. "Your father didn't answer his phone, so Sasuke's going to take you back, is that alright?"

Sakura smiled, it wasn't her fault. It was almost as if this doctor was comforting. Well, at least she had finally met the mysterious father of the Uchiha family.

"Thank you, Doctor Uchiha." Sakura replied.

"Please, call me Kakashi," He replied, placing Sakura's chart down. "And, I'll see you sometime later. Give your father my regards."

After Sakura was discharged and she refused to let Sasuke wheel her out to the car in a wheel chair, he led her to his car. Sakura felt somewhat intimidated as she slid into the leather seats of his Porsche.

"Sasuke…"

"Hm?" He asked, turning on the car.

"Thank you."

"No problem," He replied with a sly grin. "Saving lives is a specialty of mine, I guess."

Maybe it was at that point, that Sakura realized that she was starting to fall for Sasuke Uchiha.


	8. Childhood Friends

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! This is the latest chapter, and I hope you guys like it. Today at school was pretty...interesting. I have a ton of other stuff to do, so I don't really have time to give you a play-by-play, but I just want you guys to know that I LOVEEEE your reviews. xD So, review please! Oh, and if you like Wicked or just like Sakura and Ino (not as a couple) check out my new story, "Popular"!

**Dedication:**

To Queen-Cocaine, you guessed...and you guessed correct!

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto, unfortunately.

* * *

The dishes clanked in the bottom of the sink as Sakura Haruno picked one up, sprayed it, added suds, and placed it into the dish washer. A thin sigh escaped her lips, as she was completely exhausted. It was Saturday, and her father had been at meetings almost all day. She had cleaned practically the whole upper level now, and hung up a list of rules. She might have been pushing it by making rules in her own father's house for him to abide to, but it was either that or in two weeks Sakura would have to do all of that again.

"Grey's Anatomy" re-runs were playing in the next room, Sakura shook her head. She didn't watch much TV, but she could never miss her "Grey's Anatomy." Even Sakura Haruno, girl wonder, had to be entitled to at least one stupid, sappy, show. At least it was some show about a bunch of people having sex in hospitals. It could've been worse—like Ugly Betty (what was that show even about, really?) or Heroes (same question there.) Sakura let out a groan, why did it have to be the episode where Denny died?

Sakura did a side step so that she could dry the serving plate that she had used to help her make tacos that night, and so she could watch as Izzie cut the L-Vad wire, again. Sakura sighed, but when she heard the door bell ring, she clumsily dropped the plate. "Argh!" She moaned in frustration, but hopped over the mess to answer the door.

Standing in the door way was a face that she instantly recognized, Naruto Uzumaki. Sakura cleared her throat, blushing slightly. As children, she and Naruto had been pretty close. Naruto was a year younger than her, and went to a different school. Naruto's father, Minato, and Kouhei had gone to school together since they were kids, so when they got older and had children, it was their own parental fantasy to have their kids like each other.

Not that Naruto and Sakura really did get along with each other. Every summer, Minato and Kouhei would take a week long fishing and camping trip in the woods, and Sakura would stay for maximum a day and a half, and then call her mother up to leave. But, the Naruto Uzumaki standing in front of her was not the little seven year old boy that she had stepped on and yelled at for not letting her watch "Cinderella."

This Naruto was 6'1", towering over Sakura now. His blonde tresses of hair seemed to now accent him, rather than make him look awkward. His eyes were bluer than she had remembered, and she had to sigh at the crystal orbs. She had always seen him as an annoying little brother, and even though he looked just slightly gorgeous right now—she knew that he was still just that, if not less.

"Wow, Naruto? Is that you?" Sakura asked, her green orbs wide with surprise. Of course she knew it was him, but she was just double checking. Naruto didn't have any siblings, but he could have magically sprouted a hotter older brother or cousin, right?

"Haha, good to see you too," A smirk was plastered onto his face, and he took a step forward, startling Sakura. "Can I come in?"

Sakura bit down on her bottom lip, opening the door wider for him. She watched him step in, her eyes still wide. She would have liked to at least gotten a voicemail alerting her of what Naruto had become. She cleared her throat.

"What's with the broken dish?" Naruto asked, cocking his head towards the mess on the ground.

"Oh, heh, you just…surprised me." Sakura laughed awkwardly. "One sec." She excused herself as she raced off to the closet, getting a dust pan and a broom. She returned, seeing Naruto sit down on the couch. She didn't care, it wasn't his house, but when Sakura was living at her mom's house, she knew that Naruto and his dad had kept Kouhei entertained, happy, needed.

"I didn't know I was this scary," He said with a chuckle.

Sakura blushed, dumping the glass shards into the trash can. "You didn't scare me. The door bell did, there's a difference, you know."

Sakura flicked on the lights and sat down on the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. She was dressed in a pair of worn blue jeans and a simple black t-shirt, but she didn't feel awkward. She had a plastic black headband in her hair, something that she had found in her old bathroom, and put it on her head to remember, but now she was sort of glad that she had.

The only sound for the next few moments was how broken Izzie's heart was, and of course the monologues and such. Sakura sighed, looking over at Naruto. He was staring at the television, but he really wasn't watching. Sakura would have been a little frightened by now if he was watching it.

"So, how's…life?" Naruto asked as the commercials came on, leaning back in the chair.

"It's…okay. I like school, I guess. I have some pretty…interesting friends." Sakura smirked at the thought of them. All of them were so unique, and even if Rock Lee's fondness for Sakura was growing less and less, well, hidden by the day, she chose to play stupid and ignore it. "What about you?"

Naruto smiled grimly. "That's good. And for me," He paused for a moment, as if he really were putting thought into this question. "I guess I'm doing okay."

Sakura remembered when Naruto's Dad had died. She had been at summer camp, and Kouhei had e-mailed her mother to write Sakura and tell her. Sakura had been un-phased by it, completely. She wasn't an unsympathetic girl, but she was at camp, and she hadn't seen Naruto's father for what seemed like forever.  
The Uzumaki family owned a ranch on the water, a famous hang out and vacation spot among not only the community, but was pretty highly ranked in the country. Not even close to being five star, though. Sakura knew—since the ranch had been the location for most of the fishing trips that had somewhat partaken in. She licked her lips, also remembering when Naruto's Aunt and Uncle came to own the ranch.

"Listen Sakura," Naruto looked down at his hands. "I should be getting home soon, but…I heard you came back, and I really want to hang out sometime."

Sakura smiled, he came all the way out here just to ask her if he could see her? Sakura breathed.

"I'd love to come out."

"Great," Naruto smiled and stood up, walking to the door and opening it. "Oh and Sakura, try not to break anymore glass, yeah?"

Sakura laughed, closing the door behind him. "I promise." 


	9. Bonfire

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! This is the latest chapter. I'm in New York right now. We left two days ago, and spent the night in some really nice hotel in Pennsylvannia. We didn't bring the laptop, so I didn't get to come on and update sooner. I'm in a suburb of New York right now, at my aunt's house. Right now we're just getting ready for Thanksgiving and watching "Ratatouille." I'm so tired, but it's weird because I've barely done anything today. xD And it's been hard for me to concentrate (Thanks ADD! XDDD) with my nails being all shinyyyy. I got 'em done, by the way. Anyway, yes. I'm gonna spare you this insane author's note so you can just get on with the chapter. It's a little...rushed. But, still, I hope you like it!

**Dedication:**

To Estelle and Noff, misss youu!

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto, unfortunately.

* * *

"Hey Sakura."

Sakura had been packing up her homework, and believe me there had been a lot of it, to take him and work on for the weekend. Sakura sighed quietly as she loaded text book after dreary text book into her already stuffed back pack. Another ounce of mathematics or science and Sakura was afraid that the whole back pack would explode. Sakura cleared her throat, looking up and pausing to stare at the person in front of her.

Temari stood in front of her, chewing a piece of bubble gum almost violently. Gum was strictly against the rules at Konoha High, even someone who wasn't a slave to the student handbook knew that, but obviously Temari didn't care. It seemed like Temari didn't really care about most school rules. But, she was highly informed on all of the 'girl' rules.

"Oh, hey Temari," Sakura replied, shutting her locker. She was somewhat relieved that it wasn't Rock Lee standing in front of her, since she really didn't feel like arguing about whether or not she really was busy that night. "What's up?"

"Nothing really," Temari replied, still chewing on the gum. She stared down at her shoes for a few moments, then looked up with spacey expression painted across her face, as if she had forgotten her purpose. Then she snapped her fingers, the thought returning to her not so bright brain. "Tonight we're all going down to the ranch for a bonfire. I think you should come."

Sakura rubbed her lips together. Kouhei was out in Paris for the weekend, helping his newest and latest mutant clone, I mean, _artist _promote their new international tour. He had offered Sakura to come, but the last thing she wanted to do was chug along to watch her father and some barely 18 year old blonde bimbo try to translate French. So, the house was empty…and she wasn't really looking forward to going home and cooking dinner for one. 

She stared over at Temari. What the heck? She had nothing to risk. She sighed, licked her lips. "Sure. Why not?"

Temari grinned, rubbing her own glossed lips together. "Great. Rock's driving, so we'll pick you up around seven?"

Sakura nodded. "Sounds good."

After the final bell had rung, which basically meant all students better _get out_, she hitched her back pack over her back and started walking back to the house. Bonfire. Bonfires weren't something that was considered entertainment back home. On weekends back home, the movies, shopping, all of that normal teenage stuff was what kids did. But, Sakura had learned that here, they did anything but normal things.

When Sakura arrived home, she anxiously punched in the digits to the lock on the garage, yawned, and entered the house. She flicked the lights on, stretching and arching her back. There were three inbox messages—her father saying that he was staying a couple extra days (oh boy, like she hadn't seen that one coming), the credit card company advertising a new and improved card design, and Sasuke saying that he had something to tell her.

They all had been pretty mild, except the last. Sakura shrugged, throwing her back down on the kitchen table. She would call Sasuke back later, but she knew that he wouldn't leave her train of thought until she had called him back, and probably he would still be on her mind when she got back. Sakura ran up the stairs, two at a time and ripped off her jeans and shirt that she had worn to school.

She stood in front of her closet, shivering even though the heat was on. It wasn't that cold, but every day seemed cold here compared to her old home. She slid on a pair of black leggings, and threw on a jean mini skirt over that. She hated skirts with a complete passion, but today seemed like a special-ish occasion. She threw on a black sweater over that, thin, but would keep her warm.

She stared at the clock, and decided that she had just enough time to do her hair, slide on a little eyeliner and brush her teeth again. She had taken the long way home, and was now regretting that she had missed her chance to relax and maybe even watch "The Hills" re-runs. She slid on a pair of red All-Stars, since those were really the only pair of shoes that she had time to find.

Sakura navigated an empty black purse, throwing in her phone, her wallet, and other random things that she swore she'd need. Yeah, she knew for a fact that she wouldn't need them, but in Sakura's book it was always better to over-prepare. Sasuke left her mind for a bit as she saw head-lights flash outside her window. She bolted back down the stairs, leaving on only a few lights as she dashed out the door.

The brisk air burned her cheeks and pinched them with anxiety as she secured the door shut, locked it, and slid the key back into her bag. Sakura sprinted across the mildew-y grass and approached a black jeep. Everyone was inside, and a spot in the middle had been reserved for Sakura. Sakura greeted everyone, sliding in between Chouji and Temari.

"You look cute," Temari acknowledged, sliding back in the seat and crossing her legs. She smiled, then leaned forward. "Crank up the stereo, Rock!"

Rock Lee smiled, and oblidged, taking his hand off the wheel to crank up the stereo. It was only about a 45 minute drive down to the ranch, and the sky was already dark, scattered stars loitering the whole robe of black-ness that acted as the sky. Sakura listened happily as they all sang along to the radio, a mixture of different songs that no one really liked but was still on because everyone knew the words to the songs.

They pulled up to the ranch at 7:30 sharp, and Rock Lee had barely turned the car off then everyone was piling out of the car. Sakura felt the heels of her converse sink into the damp dirt. Temari linked arms with her, already giddy with excitement. Sakura could only guess that this was typical bonfire activity. Rock Lee had a flashlight, and Kiba and Hinata also had one, and they led them all down the trail.

Along the shoreline, a flaming fire was already set up. Trunks of trees were already set up, and Sakura's friends unloaded the bags of food that they had brought, all passing around Lemonade and chips, water and cookies, and whatever other paraphernalia that they had took along. Sakura's eye caught a familiar figure, and her face spread into a small smile. "Naruto?"

Naruto stopped, looked over, and his face molded into a grin as well. "Hey Sakura, I had no idea that you were part of the group that was coming today."

Sakura took a seat on one of the trunks that acted as a bench, hugging her elbows together. She licked the bottom of her lip, her nose was surely red from this air. Between the smell of the smoky fire and the salty water, Sakura's senses were all going insane. Seeing Naruto mixed with her new friends was a little…freaky, but enjoyable.

"Well, I am," She replied with a smile. "Hey—why don't you come sit with us?"

She could almost feel Rock Lee's disapproving glare from across the fire, but Naruto obliged and sat down. Sakura smiled, she wasn't sure if it had been a good idea to mix Naruto with these new people…he may get a bad impression of her new friends and think that she had morphed into one of them, as well.

For a few hours they ate and laughed and talked, Naruto included. All thoughts of any problems or anyone in particulair that Sakura had had walking in she had left back in the jeep, because she was having a blast with all of them. Halfway through a story that Temari was telling, Naruto cocked his head towards the dock.

Sakura stood up, and held out her finger, excusing herself. Naruto and her walked in silence, the only sound was their feet sinking into the sand and the ripples of the waves washing against the sea shore. Sakura stood close to Naruto, careful not to get lost in the darkness. Naruto sat down on the edge of the dock, hanging his feet against the dark water, Sakura took a seat next to him.

"Word on the street is that you've been hanging around with Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto said after a few more moments of silence. His eyes didn't make contact with hers, but instead was staring off into the water.

Sakura was a little taken back. Yeah, she had grown to be somewhat friends with Sasuke...but, it was nothing huge that Naruto had to be alerted about it. A few drops of fierce water splashed onto Sakura's feet, so she hitched her legs onto the dock and sat Indian-style. "I guess," Sakura replied, only because she wasn't for lying. "What about it?"

Naruto shook his head. "I don't like it."

Sakura practically choked on the salty air. He didn't like it? First of all, other than his undeniable mysterious aura about him that puzzled Sakura more and more every day that she was closer to him, there was nothing _dangerous _about Sasuke. And second of all, since when did Naruto get to 'yay or nay' her friends?

"Why not?" Sakura asked. She gritted her teeth together, trying not to tell him exactly what she wanted to. Even if she was itching to say something, she wanted to know why, and besides, it was sort of cute in a creepy sort of way that he was worried about her.

"Just…nevermind."

"No…tell me!" 

"You're gonna think I'm insane."

"Just tell me."

Naruto sighed once more, his eyes getting lose in the water again. "A long time ago, and I'm talking about a long time ago, our village was ambushed by a pack of…blood drinkers," Naruto quietly explained. "In other words, vampires. Sasuke…that whole _family_ is blood of the blood suckers."

Sakura couldn't help herself, she burst out laughing. If he was trying to be cute, it ahd come out as more creepy than funny, but, whatever. She sighed once she had calmed down. "Thanks for the concern, Naruto. But I can assure you, Sasuke is _not _a vampire." She leaned over and gave him a hug, and then returned to her friends.

She was the type of person to give someone the benefit of doubt, but hell would freeze over before she believed that Sauske's weird quirks were driven by the fact that he was a vampire. Ha!


	10. Uchiha 20 Questions

**Author's Note:**

Gobble, gobble! Happy Thanksgiving! To those of you who don't celebrate Thanksgivng, well, happy 11/22/2007, then! I'm in New York right now. This morning we woke up extra early to run down Manhattan for the Macy's Day Parade. It was completely packed! I saw the JB, yes the Jonas Brothers, and I screamed, "I love you Nick!" And he looked right at me, smiled, and winked. And I melted, no, kidding. xD But, Ashley Tisdale was there, Lifehouse, Ne-Yo, Dolly Parton, Winnona Judd, Jordin Sparks, Corbin Bleu (also had a connection, bahaha) and a lot of floats. It was so packed, that we could barely leave the little corner that we had been standing on. So, my mom faked an asthma attack for my sister, and we got to go sit over by the CNN people. I dunno, watch the re-runs of the parade and see if you see some CNN dude interviewing all of these kids and then see some girl with dark hair sitting off to the side. We drove through the city a little bit, and I think I saw the JB again (then again, it was probably my over active imagination), but I did see this one contestant from ANTM, and dammit, I don't remember her name. Right now I'm at my cousin's house, writing this chapter, and watching "The Office" with my cousin, my parents, my grandpa and my uncle while the other family members play Scrabble. Anyway, this chapter was supposed to be so much longer, but I'm so tired. Gah. Anyway, sorry for the long Author's Note! Happy Holidays to all. I'm thankful for REVIEWS! xD

**Dedication:**

To the maid at the hotel that barely spoke English that I said "Happy Thanksgiving" to, I don't know how it could offend you, but dammit I've been thinking about it all day. xD

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto, unfortunately.

* * *

It seemed like at the end of the day, everyone managed to find Sakura before she had even left her locker. She had been dragged into way too many situations that she did _not _want to be apart of by just dawdling at her locker. It seems ridiculous that someone should be frightful to be afraid of standing at their own locker, but hey, it's Sakura. It had been a week since the err, _interesting _trip down to the bonfire. Seeing that Naruto had been the only one to talk to Sakura, it wasn't like it had been a weird trip for Rock Lee and the rest of her friends.

Sakura had chosen to over look the whole thing, but so far that wasn't going too well.

Anyway, getting back to the present. The bell chirped the end of the day, and Sakura quickly exited her classroom. She had tried extra hard to finish her homework during class instead of dazing out the window, daydreaming, and then doing her seven hours of homework at home. Sakura took her backpack from it's hook in the all-too-small locker, shoved in the few dreary books she did need, and hitched the locker over her back. She strode to the U section of the lockers—Sasuke.

Instead of chattering excitedly with the people near him, Sasuke was instead coolly taking a few books from his locker and taking his time, sliding them into his backpack. Which really was a messenger bag more than a back pack, really. Sasuke didn't really seem like the back pack type of guy, so it wasn't too surprising for Sakura. Sakura waited for a few minutes, reading over useless bulletins hung up, a variety of colors and activities.

"Hey Sakura." A cool voice greeted her.

It was strange how just the tone of his voice, the hairs on her arms stood up, intent as if they were just itching to hear more melodic words from Sasuke's mouth as much as her ears did. Sakura smiled, half-way, really. She didn't feel like she had to fake it and _grin _in front of Sasuke. She didn't grin anyway, so why did she have to grin for Sasuke, King of all Weirdness.

"Hey Sasuke," She replied, hitching the back pack's weight from one arm to the other. "Where are you headed to?"

"I was just planning on going home." He replied with the shrug of his shoulders. The halls were beginning to clear, which was understandable. The students of Konoha High managed to stampede for the majority around 30 seconds after the bell rang, and on Friday it seemed like the students _flew _out of the school. "What about you?"

Sakura rubbed her lips together. "I thought maybe we could hang out. Go to the mall or something." She was almost about to suggest the ranch since that seemed like such a typical hang out spot for the kids here. But, judging only on Naruto's err, _interesting _words about Sasuke and his family, Sakura had no intention of stirring up some unwanted trouble by bringing Sasuke to the ranch. The mall was just the next thing that flew out of her mind.

Sakura saw a small smile drape across his color-less lips. "That sounds like fun." He replied.

The two walked to Sasuke's car, a bright silver spotless and scratchless sports car with some foreign brand. Sakura left a short voicemail on Kouhei's phone to tell him that she wouldn't be able to be reached at home. Sakura opened the door to the car and slid in, somewhat amazed. Sakura owned a bike, and Sasuke owned this car.

Sakura's hand anxiously grasped at the silky seatbelt and she crossed it over her thin body, obvious goosebumps rising from her flesh. She swallowed, hearing the seatbelt click into it's position. Sasuke slid into the car, cool as usual, and turned the car on. Sakura expected music to begin to play from the speakers, as something that usually happened when kids turned on their cars.

Sakura would never learn that Sasuke wasn't like those other teens, would she?

Sasuke began driving to the mall, and Sakura's eyes caught a CD case on the ground. "Can I peek?" She asked, cocking her head towards the thick, black case that laid on the floor.

"Sure," he replied, shrugging his shoulders and turning out of the school parking lot.

Sakura flipped open the CD case, and felt like she was getting a direct view into something so personal like, Sasuke's diary or something. Though, as much as Sasuke tended to surprise her, he didn't seem like he'd keep a diary if his life depended on it. Belle & Sebastien, AC/DC, Tammi Terell, Motzart, Garth Brooks, Gwen Stefani, early Vanessa Carlton, every single artist that seemed to have been known, all lying beneath this book.

Sakura swallowed. "This is your CD case?"

He shrugged. "Just my favorites."

She should have expected at least that.

The drive to the mall was surprisingly…unawkward. Sakura had been expecting the ride over to be strange—what were they supposed to talk about; how green the trees were? How cold it was outside? Um, no thanks. They talked about music and the English project, and then Sasuke began to ask questions.

"Where are you originally from?" He asked.

" Florida," Sakura replied, shrugging and extending her legs. "The sunshine state." Usually, Floridians here added their tone of proudness into this part of any conversation, but there was nothing really to be proud of. She had lived here in this dreary place before, but it had seemed like light years before, and in a way, it almost was. 

"Ah, that's nice," He replied, nodding. It was funny, he wasn't saying it like he was forced to reply in that way. It was almost as if he was being…truthful. As if he actually did mean it. Apparently Sasuke Uchiha didn't waste breath on anyone apparently, too. "And what about your family?"

"My dad's Kouhei, and my birth mother is named Hazuki, My parents divorced when I was just a baby, and Kouhei stayed here, and my mother moved to Florida. She met my step-dad, Hachi, here." Sakura replied with a shrug. Not even Temari or Hinata got this life story yet, so it was interesting that she was telling them this. "What about you?"

Sasuke grimly smiled. "I wasn't done with my questions yet. Patience is a virtue."

Sakura couldn't help but burst out in a single note of laughter, somewhat sarcastic. "I guess I've stumbled upon the Uchiha version of 20 questions, eh?" She replied, it may have sounded a little 'mean', but she didn't mean it like that. Battle of the wits is what Sasuke wanted, and that's what he'd get.

"Oh yes," Sasuke replied, not letting up his smirk. "And it's only been two questions. Now, may I continue?"

"No."

"Good. Thanks for the permission," Sasuke replied, changing the smirk to the other side of his mouth. "What about pets? Siblings?"

Sakura sighed, and began launching into the whole nine yards about her life, her family, the other hoop-la. She thought she had continued everything, but she hadn't. Sasuke had managed to ask enough questions to last the whole way to the mall, and his questions didn't let up in intensity as they found a parking spot.

"Alright, alright, hold the questions." Sakura replied, holding out her hand after she had unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Fine." He replied with a sarcastic sigh. "But I get to continue when we get back."

"Whatever you say."


	11. You're Not Normal  PART ONE!

**Author's Note:**

I can not believe how long it's been since I updated this story. To all of you faithful reviewers who have been with me since Chapter One, thank you. I will try really hard to start updating more often, but I feel like I've been at a loss of muse. Anyway, I've been pretty busy lately. School, homework, tests--that in itself is a lot. But, anyone who ever has been, is in, or will be in middle school knows the drama that comes with being in middle school.

I slept over at Ayatsuri Sakkaku (Marley) house last night, and that was a lot of fun. We plotted a series of "Naruto" one shots, so you guys should go there and read some of them. So far, I wrote the prologue and Marley wrote a NaruSaku friendship and a NejiTen love-thing story, and I'm gonna have a KibaHina and something else up by tomorrow. Anyway, I'm starving and writing this chapter towards the end got me realllyy hungry. xD

OH YES, read and review.

And don't kill me. -.-

**Dedication:**

To someone that shall not be named. She's going through a hard time, and even though she's an idiot for publicizing it and we're not friends, I just want her to know that there are people who care.

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto, unfortunately.

* * *

The mall was buzzing with activity, as it usually was. The aroma of the food court paired with the obvious static between Sakura and Sasuke was making Sakura twinge with anxiety. She was feeling somewhat up beat compared to the sloth-like behavior she had recently adopted.

"Where to?" Sakura asked, pausing at the front desk to the mall. She plucked a map from the display, opening it delicately and laying it out.

A corner of Sasuke's mouth turned up into one of those rare grim smiles that sent Sakura's heart fluttering a million miles a minute involuntarily. "It doesn't matter to me," he replied. "I suppose the music store." He thought/suggested aloud.

Sakura sighed with relief. Music. Now maybe in the quiet grasps of FYE she would get the chance of learning more about mysterious Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke had gotten a sufficient amount of answers from Sakura, and more useless facts than Sakura would expose to anyone rather than someone she met not too long ago. The two stepped into the empty elevator.

All of these small moments when they were together made Sakura feel so jumpy, lingering on every word and feeling like her body would become in sync with itself if she was able to take one short breath once he was out of her eye site. But, at the same time, she felt so at ease, as if he rested his head on her, or even just had some kind of contact with her, that her fears would settle down, that all would be well.

The pair made their slow, easy patronage to the music store. They chatted mindlessly, the topics varying greatly from tests to movies and everything in between. The paused at windows, critiquing the displays. It seemed oddly normal. Especially odd because normal was something that did not describe Sakura and Sasuke.

Finally the fluorescent-lit store came into site and they both casually strolled in. Sakura stuffed her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. Sasuke seemed to linger behind her.

Sakura began to browse the CDs. Not once did his eyes avert, a pleasant tingling on her scalp reminded her of his stare. After three or four Cds, she was beginning to decode his reactions. He would click his tongue at the poor choices, and shift his weight at the good choices.

The White Stripes? Shift.  
Celine Dion? Click.  
Death Cab For Cutie? Shift.

Just for the fun of it, Sakura placed her hand on a Hannah Montana CD, which earned her a double click. They both let out a chorus of laughs, but as Sakura moved on, balancing the growing tower of CDs in her arms, she began speculating. He had clicked, but he had clicked even before Sakura's hand reached the CD…

She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. He wasn't some kind of ESP-er.

Haha, Sasuke the ESPer.

Sakura mosied her way up to the counter, producing the cash and then putting the change away. Sakura noted the bag Sasuke casually teetered in his hand.

"You must be hungry."

It was almost like clockwork, then Sakura's stomach grumbled. She clutched her stomach, part embarassed but mostly freaked out. But, before she had time to speculate more, Sasuke was already walking out of the store—his way of pulling her out of the store.

The two walked on, Sasuke seeming to lead them to the food court as if he came there all the time. "What looks good?" Sasuke inquired.

Sakura inhaled, the aroma filling her empty stomach. The first smell was the sticky aroma of Toll House cookies. Sakura cocked her head towards the cookie stand. The pair walked over to the counter.

"A chocolate chip cookie," She said, letting her hands rest on the counter. There was a few doe-eyed hazed, pimple ridden teenagers umcomfortably serving people, afraid that their friends and/or the popular crowd would see them. "And…"

"Nothing for me, thanks," Sasuke finished. His hand reached into his pockte and produced several dollar bills.

Sakura was a bit taken back by Sasuke's blunt reaction, but nodded her thanks. She took the gooey treat and slid into a seat at the table, Sasuke sliding into the one across from her.

"Sasuke, I have to ask you something." She said, looking down at the cookie and picking a piece, popping it into her mouth.

"Ask away."

She sighed. How could she put these thoughts into actual words?

"You're different And, I mean that in a good way," She started. "But…I just have a feeling that….that there's something too different about you—and I don't mean that to offend you, but." She sighed.

"No, go ahead."

"I think that there's something….different about you. That you might not be…completely…human."

He didn't burst out into laughter, instead, he grabbed Sakura by the wrist and began pulling her away. "Come with me."

Sakura didn't know which to be more distressed by—the fact that he was pulling her away, or the fact that her cookie was back at the table.


	12. You're Not Normal PART TWO!

**Author's Note:**

It has been way too long since I updated this story. I've never really had a story where I haven't updated in forever like this. Let's see, way too much has happened. So, for anyone who has been reading the story, they know that I love the Jonas Brothers. Well, they came on the 5th with Hannah Montana. I didn't get tickets (like who did?) but my friend called me the day before to go get Hannah Montana merchandise because they were selling it at the place of the concert. So, my friend, me, my mom, my sister, and her mom all piled into the van and headed over. I got a JB poster, my sister got a program and a Miley necklace. On our way out, we saw a lighting truck in the distance and my mom went up and interrogated the poor man. He said that he wished he could get us in, but he couldn't. He did tell us where they were staying, though. We went to the hotel and we met the ROAD MANAGER for Hannah Montana! She got us second row tickets, they were amazing seats. At the concert, we gave the road manager one of the purses that my Mom designs, and we gave one to Miley (no, I didn't get to meet her) with a letter and one to this really nice backup singer, Candice. I also met Katie and Karleigh Santry, who are famous for basically trekking around the country to meet JB and they gave them a letter I wrote to them! At the intermission, I went up and asked for Nick's guitar pick from the security guard, but he said he had just given it away. But, Nick heard me and he told the security guard to give me the first guitar pick he used that night and the set list! It was amazing. So much has happened since then, though! Right now Marley (Ayatsuri Sakkaku) is over right now and we had a pretty insane night--more about that later, though. She's reading "Twilight" right now next to me, so I knew I had to update this chapter. Wow. Have a happy and safe holiday, everyone! Make sure to review and tell me what you want/what you got for the holidays! This chapter isn't very good, but I hope it'll get better as I get back into this story.

**Dedication:**

-Audrey, the girl from Big Boy. She's so sweet!

-Gabi, Candice, Katie, and Karleigh...you know why.

-Paul Kevin, Nicholas Jerry, and Joseph Adam.

-Lizzie, Kristyn, Maddie, Brooke, Teddy, Allie, and everyone else who got me presents!

-And T.J. & Mr. Val who's parties are all today!

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own Naruto, unfortunately.

* * *

There was definitely electricity inside of him, Sakura had decided. All thoughts about the baked goods that had been left on the table were long, long, long gone as he pulled her in the direction of this undisclosed location. She closes her eyelids a bit, caught off guard at what was going on, but trusting him not to let her fall. She hears conversations, or glimpses of them, as Sasuke pulls her in the direction of their meeting place.

Next to Urban Outfitters, a janitor's door swings open and as a small old man shuffles out with his cleaning equipment, Sasuke pushes Sakura in and shuts the door. Sakura feels her lip trembling—not because she's frightened, or nervous, but more like anxious. Why? Why had he suddenly dragged her away and into some place where her senses were being altered by not only the sheer event, but the fact that the smell of Lysol and other sloshy cleaning solutions is intoxicating.

"Sasuke…are you feeling alright?" Sakura asked quietly, wrapping her hands around her elbows, cradling her pale arms and listening to the boy, or more like observing his silence.

His back was pressed against the cement door, his coal-dark eyes staring coldly ahead, more in thought than furious. His gaze only shifted, and he nodded. "Listen, Sakura…" He sighed. "What you said earlier…what did you mean?"

Sakura swallowed, recalling all of the stories that Naruto had told her. Vampires didn't exist…she didn't believe in them. Maybe at one time she had thought that they were, or hoped that they were, but just like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and the Easter bunny—they didn't. They were just a figure, an advertisement, a folk lore, something that Sakura didn't know had been or was going to be in her life.

"Nothing. I didn't mean to offend you so badly, Sasuke."

"No." Sasuke clenched his fist, but immediately relaxed it, exhaling. "You didn't offend me…just please, tell me what you meant."

Sakura considered what he meant exactly by all of this. Why was he getting so worked up? Sakura tried to think of alternatives to why he could be thinking that. Maybe when he was a child, kids called him that? No, people like Sasuke didn't act on things that happened in the past, Sakura knew that for sure. She rubbed her lips, staring into his empty eyes. If she could fill those eyes with life like she intended, then dammit, she was going to.

"A few days ago I heard some stories…" she exhaled, staring down at the chemically stained floors. "About…vampires." She breathed the word out quickly and quietly, as if it was venom that she quickly wanted to rid herself of.

"Vampires?"

"Yes."

"Sakura, you're different." Sasuke told her after a few moments of silence.

"Um, thanks?"

"No." He shook his head. "Listen to me. Vampires…they are real." He responded.

Sakura tried not to gawk, but nodded, as if this was news that she heard all the time.

"I am a vampire. We're not bad—really. Well, not all of us are. I like to think of myself as a 'good guy', but just like mortals are tempted by things, I am tempted by human blood. The first time I saw you, I was tempted."

Sakura let out a small, awkward sound, and instantly regretted it. So, the first time he saw her, he wanted to eat her?

"But, it was almost like I fell in love with you when I first saw you," he responded, his voice still firm and stiff, showing no sign of cracking. "Like you captured my heart and refused to let it go. And, that's not good. Mortals and vampires…we don't mix. We try to, and we can be friends, but I don't know if having you as a love interest would help."

"Help what?" Sakura asked.

"The bond. The bond that's trying to be built between the vampires and the mortals." Sasuke replied.

"Does that mean you don't want to see me anymore?"

"No!" Sasuke took a step forward, but the distance that he traveled looked like he had leaped. Now he was standing in front of Sakura, his nose practically touching her's. Her heart was fluttering more from excitement than fright.

"When you saved me…" Sakura recalled, swallowing and trying to get off the subject of them together or apart.

"Being a vampire entitles me to certain powers," Sasuke explained, turning around and rubbing the nape of his neck. "Strength. Mind reading."

"Mind reading?"

Sasuke laughed a grim laugh and turned around. "Not your mind. I can hear practically everyone's thoughts, to some extent. At least, if they're close to me, or close around then I can hear everything. But not you. You're…different."

"Wow. Thanks."

"No, not in a bad way."

Sakura swore she saw a smirk, but she didn't dare say anything.  
"Sakura…I understand if you don't want to spend time with me anymore." Sasuke quietly explained.

"Who said that?" Sakura asked, raising from her perch against the metal shelving unit.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. "You'd want to spend time with me? Even after you found out that I'm a monster?"

Sakura shrugged. "Why not?"

Sasuke smirked. "Sakura Haruno, you really are different."

Sakura mimicked the smirk. "I know."

And so, she opened the door for the vampire, and the two walked out.

Because this mortal had a curfew, and she was verging on breaking it.


	13. The Hike

The air was crisp, perfect for a hike. Well, not like those words had come out of Sakura Haruno---klutz extrodinare's mouth. No, rather that weekend Sasuke had called her and told her that today was the day for a hike. Of course, saying no to Sasuke was hard enough. Being with him had turned into a ritual, a drug almost. They didn't talk much at school, especially during lunch. Sakura still clung to Temari and Hinata and their group like a lost puppy, and Sasuke still stuck to his family.

But, her father also had some kind of dinner thing going on tonight, which meant that Sakura would have to play happy daughter for an evening, trying to do the impossible--entertain rising/risen stars and their stuffy, boring, phone addict executive producers. Which gave Sakura more reason to head for the hills, or in this case Sasuke's house. Sakura stared at her reflection in the body-length mirror, heaving a sigh from her thin lips. She had dressed in a pair of Steve & Barry jeans...not necessarily model material, but she was trying to feel comfy, not give Sasuke an erection.

Ugh, why did she have to think of these things? She shook the thought out of her damp pink curls and pulled on a long sleeved red t-shirt, zipping up a red flannel sweatshirt over it. She didn't exactly look like a glamour queen, but it would have to do. To spice up the look and feel to her attire for the day, she leaned over and spritzed some of the French perfume that her father had brought back for her on her wrists. She inhaled, coughed, and decided to go with her regular mix of Vanilla from Bath & Body Works and tea tree oil scent from the body shop.

Sakura grabbed a pair of dirty tennis shoes that she had rescued from the bottom of the one unpacked suitcase. She flopped down on her bed, sliding her foot in one at a time and lacing the shoes. They were a bit too small, but she decided that it was all the more better to keep her feet in. Arming herself with her water bottle and a cell phone, the young teen jogged down the steps, to find her father sitting on the couch, sorting through mail.

"Hello, Sakura," he said with a smile, twisting in his seat at the sound of his daughter coming down the stairs. "Where are you going?"

Sakura licked her lips. Her father surely knew who the Uchiha's were. In this small town, everyone knew everyone, which meant that Kouhei Haruno, most certainly knew the Uchiha's...including Sasuke. Kouhei sometimes brought Kakashi Uchiha up in conversation, but never on a regular basis or including Sasuke or any of the rest of the Uchiha's. Sakura didn't like keeping secrets from anyone, especially her supposed father, but this was something she just didn't want to bring up.

"Oh, just out with Temari and Hinata," Sakura replied, walking towards her father and planting a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back later, alright?"

"Have fun, don't stay out too late," Kouhei responded fatherly, returning to the large mail pile. "Call around dinner time, alright?"

"Mhm, sure, Dad," Sakura opened the door, stepped out, and quickly shut the door behind her. Lying was one of Sakura's least favorite things...but what Kouhei didn't know, could never hurt him. She mounted her bike, not bothering with a helmet. It probably would do her some good, but she wasn't going to risk looking more well, butch, by putting the helmet on and then taking it off to reveal hat hair.

Sakura slipped the note out of her pocket that told her directions of how to get to this supposed trail. She tried to keep one eye out for other pedestrians and read, but it was almost impossible. Sakura had never had a fantastic sense of direction, but she was determined to get there by the time that Sasuke had told her...5:00. And it was...4:45.

Sakura sped up, feeling the peddles with her feet, and realizing that she was going right way. She exhaled, feeling a little bit more relaxed. She could do this. Right. Just biking...something she learned when she was four. Soon, the houses were replaced by more trees, and Sakura knew that she was almost there. She kept on peddling, a yawn escaping her lips.

She stopped at the sign to the trail, the designated meeting spot. Her smile faltered when she saw that Sasuke was nowhere in site. She dropped her bike, running her fingers through her hair and walking over to the wooden sign, leaning against it. Leaves rustled, and suddenly Sasuke was standing right behind her, making Sakura squeal.

"Nice sound," Sasuke chukled.

Sakura glared.

"You're ten minutes late."

"Well, excuse me," Sakura rolled her eyes playfully. "I've never been to the most remote part of town to go freaking hiking. What does that mean anyway? Good hiking weather?"

"It means that I'm going to teach you to be an outdoorsman...er, woman." Sasuke replied with a grim smile.

"Right." Sakura rolled her eyes. "How much time do you have?"

Sasuke chuckled. "As long as we need, now let's go."

------

Sakura decided that this hiking thing wasn't so bad. She was doing fine, really. And she had even seen a rabbit or two, and they had hopped right past them. Sasuke wasn't leading, though. He was standing behind her rather, not touching her, but if she were to fall back, then he'd catch her.

This was comforting to Sakura. Perhaps maybe too comforting.

"Is this so bad?" Sasuke asked, his voice interrupting Sakura's trance.

Sakura let out a 'hmph' sound, but smiled. "It's not so bad."

"Want to rest?"

"Sure."

They wandered off the trail a little bit, in search of a grassy, smooth spot to relax. Sakura wished that he would take the lead now, for wandering off trail in a forest was pretty scary. Just the setting for a horror movie. Err, no pun intended. But, he didn't. Sakura didn't know if this was him trying to make sure she was alright, that she didn't trip...

Her thoughts caused her to vere off from paying attention to where her feet were leading her, and Sakura ended up tripping over a tree root and twisting her ankle pretty bad. Sasuke practically leaped to her side, crouching down. "Are you alright?"

Sakura harshly bit down on her bottom lip, trying not to burst into tears. "It...hurts."

Sasuke lifted the jean leg, staring down at her ankle bone, pressing two fingers against it. Sakura flinched, and Sasuke stood back up. "You probably sprained it. Kakashi can fix it, I'll take you back to the house."

"I can't walk back...and you can't carry me." Sakura insisted.

"Wanna bet?" He asked, flashing another grim smile.

That smile was enough to melt Sakura's heart and take her words away, so she nodded. He helped her onto his back, securing his arms around her legs, and taking one step back onto the trail, and soon, Sakura felt like she was floating on air.

She rested her head against his shoulder, looking up. But when she looked down she gulped, they really were floating on air.

She tightened her grip on him and hoped that if there was a god, that he made sure that Sasuke didn't drop her.


	14. Enter: Tenten!

Sakura wouldn't look down, she promised herself that

she wouldn't look down. Heights were one of the many

things that Sakura Haruno was afraid of, and she

wasn't going to risk squealing like a little girl

again, like she had when Sasuke snuck up on her, if

she did look down. So, instead she clung to his back,

hoping that her eyes would cooperate with the rest of

her body. She was afraid that she was clinging to hard

to him, digging her finger nails into his back, but he

didn't seem to mind.

Sasuke dropped both of them gracefully to a

gravel-ridden driveway, leading to a very elegant,

sophisticated, old looking home. Vines creeped up the

sides of the red-brick aging beauty, a cherry wood

door with a mighty brass door knocker. Cars were lined

up orderly, the Uchiha car collection, what a grand

one. Sakura felt herself swallowing, forgetting the

intense pain that had taken over most of her body long

enough to realize that she was going to be meeting the

family soon.

He gently set her down against the porch steps,

crouching and holding her ankle steady. "Are you sure

you want to go in?" he asked. "I know it might be

scary to meet a family of vampires."

Sakura frowned in thought. Never had the idea of a

family of vampires crossed her mind. She knew that it

might be a little creepy to walk into a room and be

looked at as not a person but a possible dinner. But,

Sakura was more afraid of what they'd think of her.

All of the Uchiha's had this aura to them that made

them seem like they were just…above everyone else.

They were always cool, calm, collected. They had the

hottest clothes, the best cars, they were untouchable.

A look but don't touch scenario, in a way.

"I don't think they'll like me." She explained,

drumming her fingers against her jeans.

"Don't think they'll like you?" He looked at her, his

eyes wide. The most surprise he had ever shown around

Sakura, she noted to herself. "You're…you're not

afraid that they'll eat you or bite you or anything?"

Sakura shook her head truthfully.

"You're some girl, Sakura Haruno," Sasuke shook his

head, but flashed her a small smirk, rolling her jean

leg back down again. He helped her up, swooping her up

bridal style.

Sakura felt her stomach flutter. She knew he wasn't

doing it to be sexy or whatever, but just rather

trying to help her inside. The door opened, exposing

an even more sophisticated, rustic looking indoors.

The whole first floor's floors and stair cases were

cherry red wood color. There were no pictures lining

the walls, just the rustic detail of wood paneling

that some soul had spent what looked like a life's

work on.

"Who's there?" A slim brunette girlish figure walked

down the steps. A pair of Banana Republic slim dark

wash jeans hugged her detailed figure, and a gray

cashmere turtleneck with a gold vintage locket hanging

down. A smile was on her face, and she looked so

vibrant from where she was standing, or rather being

held. But, as Sakura squinted her eyes a little, she

saw that she was pale, and instantly recognized her as

Tenten.

Sasuke stood, smirking. "'Morning, Tenten. I see you

finally are up," He playfully told his supposed

sister. "This is Haruno Sakura, my girlfriend."

Sakura swallowed, girlfriend. They had had this

conversation before, how they were supposedly dating,

but Sasuke hated titles. Although, Sakura had to

admit, it did give her a butterfly sensation in her

stomach, but she decided to play it cool, for him. Heck, he and his siblings played it cool so much, it was the least that she could do to show she was worthy of being around them.

Sakura felt herself stand up, try to present herself better. She was fearful of a critical glance that would look her over, but it didn't happen. A pleasant, yet sincere, Tenten waltzed down the steps, sophisticated yet not too unapproachable now that she was standing right in front of her.

"Sakura," she smiled, extending her hand, glamorously. Dammit, did everything everyone did in this family have to be so...put together and choreographed? "We've heard so much about you. I'm so happy to finally be putting a face to the name and the stories." She gathered Sakura in a hug, shocking the pink haired teen, but feeling a wave of relief as she winked at Sasuke.

When the hug departed, Tenten led them into the kitchen--pretty elaborate for a family who dined outdoors. Sakura was blinded by stainless steal and granite, staying close to Sasuke's side. Her father, Mr. Record Executive man, didn't even have a kitchen this nice in his home. Sakura wasn't sure if she wanted to see the rest of the home.

"Tours later, but now I'm sure you're starving," Tenten opened the fridge, showing a heavy stock of food, obviously not for them, but probably just incase any visitors came knocking or whatever. "Carrots? Celery?" She offered.

Sakura politely shook her head.

"Let's sit down, then," Tenten told the two, sitting down gracefully on a cherry red wood chair at the table.

"Maybe some other time," Sasuke told her. "We've sort of got a medical emergency."

Tenten gasped. "What happened?"

"I'm a klutz." Sakura offered uneasily, but Tenten laughed.

"Kakashi should be down in a second, just talking to Tsunade." Tenten said, glancing at the clock. "Now I must excuse myself, I'm terribly sorry. Neji's out training again, and you know how he likes to over do it." She told Sasuke, laughing as though it was some great inside joke that Sakura would soon be informed on. "Pleasure to meet you."

"You too." Sakura replied, smiling.

Kakashi waltzed down the steps just moments after Tenten exited the back door, smiling easily at the teenagers. "Hello Sakura, hello Sasuke," He glanced down at Sakura's leg, propped up on a chair. He set down his newspaper on the granite counter. "What happened, Sakura?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but Sakura jumped into it instead. "I fell."

Kakashi examined the bruised ankle, and nodded. "I have a brace for you, but if it still hurts in a few days, come and see me in the hospital and we'll give you an X-Ray." Kakashi added with a smile. Sakura smiled, the pain subsiding with that confident smile.

After the brace was put on, Kakashi left so that the two could have a moment alone. Sasuke helped Sakura into his car, driving her back to her house.

Sakura looked over at him once they pulled up to her house. She didn't want to leave him, she never wanted to be away from him.

"See you later." She told him.

He leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips. "Come over tomorrow?"

Sakura, too intoxicated with the contact of their lips, could do nothing but nod, and quietly slid out of the car.

Tomorrow.

----------

A/N: HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I hope everyone is spending time with friends and family...just don't forget about your homework. So basically, it's 12/30 right now because it's 12:30 am, and I am insane enough to bring you a hearty helping of Jougen so early in the morning...or late at night, depending on how you look at it. I cleaned my room, and now it's messy again. How the hell does that happen to me so much? Anyway, yes Marley , this is for you. TENTEN, HERE SHE IS. Everyone who is anxious to meet the rest of the Uchiha clan, hehe no pun intended, should sit back because you'll get a hearty dose of them too. Now everyone...I hoped you liked this chapter and I hope that I can update tomorrow!


	15. Cleaning

Sneaking out was something that Sakura Haruno did not do. Sneaking out was something that Sakura Haruno would never _dream _of doing. Then again, Sakura Haruno would never have thought that she would be dating Sasuke Uchiha, hottie & vampire. So, there was Sakura, at exactly 11 o'clock at night. Her father had started giving her a curfew after Sakura was repeatedly coming at the door late. It was a week day, even if they were off for a week thanks to an unexpected, yet welcomed by the students, vandalism. She still should have been in her room at 10 o'clock, though.

The young girl paced her bedroom, a pink bath robe tied over her clothing--a pair of jeans and a long sleeved Red t-shirt. They could pass for pajamas, if her father came up, which was highly unlkely, but still. Sasuke should've been here a minute ago, Sakura noted to herself as she paced around the room. She had been living almost a double life lately. No one knew that Sasuke and her were dating but Sasuke's family. Not Temari, not Hinata, not her father...she hated secrets, but, it was really the only choice, wasn't it?

If she told everyone, then they'd be all over Sasuke, they'd eventually find out about his secret. Sakura wasn't ashamed of what he was, but she didn't want anyone to find out and shun him. They put Sasuke up on a pedestal right now, marking him as untouchable and unobtainable. Although, Sakura had obtained him...

A tap was heard at the window and Sakura rushed to the window, opening it and Sasuke entered. She felt butterflies flutter around her already anxious/excited stomach.

"You're late." Sakura told him, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him, frowning.

"Sorry, traffic was bad," He winked at her, Sakura knowing quite well how he arrived at her house, and it wasn't by automobile. Or plane or boat for that matter. He hopped off of the window sill, walking over to Sakura and wrapping his arms around her waist, placing a delicate kiss on her lips.

Sakura wasn't mad anymore.

"Ready to leave?" He asked, cocking his head towards the still open window. Sakura swallowed, knowing that this wasn't so bad. Her father was off all the time in European countries and wherever else he went, and Sakura should be able to stay out past curfew with her friends every once in a while.

Or sneak out with her vampire boyfriend. Same difference.

Sakura nodded, running her fingers through her pink locks once more. Sasuke helped her onto his back, and she gripped, for all the life she had in her onto his body.

"Sakura, if I were human, this would hurt very bad."

Sakura looked down to see that she had accidentally dug her finger nails into his flesh, she loosened her grip, instead clamping her eyes shut. This would only be the second time that Sakura was traveling this way, as opposed to Sasuke, who had probably done it tons of times.

He hopped onto a tree branch outside of her window, and managed to balance there for a few moments before she shut the window, quietly. As he began to fly through the night, Sakura saw her father sitting on the couch, watching MTV music videos and the news at the same time. A bottle of vodka and a mug of coffee were balanced on the table, a cell phone in his hand.

Sakura came to the conclusion he wasn't going to miss her anytime soon.

-----------------------

Sasuke's house didn't seem to change since the first time she was there, two weeks ago. It seemed as though time had stopped, not only for the Uchihas, but not even the grass or the vines were growing. It gave an eerie, spooky effect, something that would bother anyone.

But Sakura.

Sasuke gracefully skidded to the ground, pausing. "Feeling alright?" Sasuke tenderly asked, giving Sakura the few moments she needed to step off, brush herself off, and collect her balance.

Sakura nodded. "I fly all the time. Remember?"

Sasuke playfully rolled his eyes.

He opened the door, which was unlocked, Sakura noted. She followed closely behind him, anxious to see what the rest of the Uchiha's were up to that night.

"Is that my stupid Sasuke coming in the door?"

Tenten entered the room, smiling. She was dressed in a wool jacket.

"Oh, hey, Sakura!" Tenten smiled, grabbing Sakura into a hug. Sakura hugged her back, well slightly, and Tenten broke the short, friendly embrace.

"Hello, Tenten," Sasuke acknowledged his kin with a nod of his head. He noticed her jacket next. "Off somewhere?"

Tenten sighed. "I have to pick up Ino. She's lost, again. Tell me, how does one girl with such supernatural powers get lost so easily?" Her tone was annoyed, but her eyes were still sparkling. Sakura didn't know how someone like her could just seem so damn happy all the time was beyond Sakura. Although, she wasn't happy _all _the time...

"You two be good, I'll see you later," Tenten waved good bye and shut the door.

"You know what I want." Sakura told Sasuke when Tenten had left, shedding her jacket and hanging up on the empty old fashioned coat rack in the front hall.

"What's that? A pony?" Sasuke retorted with a smirk.

"No," Sakura rolled her eyes playfully. "I want to see your room."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"No, not like _that,_" Sakura protested. "Jeez, you can be such a guy sometimes. Anyway, I mean, I wanna see where a vampire sleeps. No offense."

"Well, sure, it's not that exciting, I don't think you'll find any coffins here. Let me give you the grand tour." Sasuke started up the stairs, Sakura following after him.

The first room led to Kakashi and Tsunade's room--a large spacious area with a fireplace that was large enough to heat the whole house, but seemed to have not been used in too long. Candles lined the entire room, paintings and old photographs. The entire room was blue, a serene color.

Then Neji's room--weights everywhere, a stereo still going but with the speakers turned all the way down, piles of clothes everywhere.

Shikamaru's room after that--book cases, a chess game (unfinished, and Sakura could tell that with the .32 of knowledge in that department that she had), neat, especially for a guy.

Ino's room was especially girly, all purple. And Tenten's was neat, somewhat of a mixture of all the bedrooms. Sakura took in her breath, unless this was a guest room ( which Sakura highly doubted ) the next room was going to be Sasuke's.

He was right--no coffins. No spider webs...well, she couldn't be sure of that. The room was a complete mess, but she could make out part of it, at least. There was a large bed, probably a Queen sized bed...which wasn't that big, but much bigger than the twin sized bed that Sakura had right now. It was a four post bed, with cherry wood and spiraling posts. The bed was unmade, and it seemed that a comforter was missing.

There was one neat thing about the room. Three of the four walls were lined completely with book shelves, full of one thing, CDs. And records, some that Sakura had never seen before, even at first glance. Sakura felt her jaw drop.

"Well, see, this is where a vampire sleeps."

"Sleeps? You can get through this mess?" She playfully widened her eyes, bumping his hip. "Come on, we're gonna clean."

Sasuke moaned. "Noooo. Sakura."

Sakura entered the room, clearing a pile of things and sitting down in the center. Well, at least she felt the floor. It was wood, too. Wow, very...cold. Of course, comfort wasn't really something that was a necessity after however many years Sasuke had been alive. Not that Sakura wanted to ask that question, either.

"Well, if you insist," He sighed.

"Come. Clear some shit and sit down." Sakura smiled, she giggled, and she swear she saw Sasuke actually smile, but when she looked over at him, the smile had faded into a half smirk. A half smirk?! That was practically nothing.

Sakura began sorting dirty clothes from ones that were clean. Cologne bottles half empty, novels almost finished, yarn, a condom wrapper (Sasuke swore he didn't know where it came from), pillows, blankets, a Christmas ornament, a pack of gum, a baggie of green glass beads, a sea shell, and a Marilyn Monroe pocket-sized photograph were among the more interesting things that were found.

Sakura sighed, staring over at the clock, 1:30 am, and they were finally done. Although, there was a ton of laundry to do...

"We make a good team, Haruno," Sasuke said, standing up and looking at his now clean room.

Sakura smirked. "I think we do. Shame that I don't get a reward for this job, though."

"Who said you wouldn't?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist, a smile settling into Sakura's features.

Well then. She would suggest cleaning more often.

-----------------

A/N: And that my friend, is your chapter. I've been trying to write it forever, and now I finally got a chance to. Or more like forced myself to. I hope you all are having a great New Year's. We had a bunch of people over, young and old alike. All of the little kids were playing in the newly cleaned out playroom ( yes! all of the Barbie dolls and the stuffed animals are either a.) stuffed into my old computer room, b.) stuffed into the closet, or c.) in the basement. ) Some of the older boys were watching "Live Free or Die Hard" in my bedroom, and that's where I left them for almost a half an hour to go watch the Jonas Brothers on ABC. ZOMG, DID ANYONE SEE THEM?! ...Okay, I'll shut up.

Anyway, has anyone read the story TheCherryOnTop? I love it. It's about Sakura's blogging and stuff, it's almost like Gossip Girl and sugar, and sweet, and everything nice. Anyway, the writer is amazing, and I love it. I decided to print it out to read it at school, or at least one chapter, and I left at home. And my mom found out and thought that it was an actual blog that //I// wrote, and she still thinks that. I'm like, "MOM, WTF? FIRST OF ALL, IT'S FAN FICTION. SECOND OF ALL, I'M NOT INVOLVED IN IT AT ALL!" Dammit. Anyway...-- This was a great way to let out steam.

By the way, I might write you a steamy citrus (yes, a lemon) if you all REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: "Sweetest Girl" feat. Akon, Lil Wayne, and Niia.

CURRENTLY READING: "Scrambled Eggs At Midnight" by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler.

CURRENTLY TALKING TO: No one. -sniff- I signed off of to work on this chapter for you all!

CURRENTLY LOOKING FORWARD TO: Hopefully going to see "JUNO" on Saturday with Marley/Audrey/Tenten/Mars!

CURRENTLY IN MY DVD PLAYER: One Tree Hill - Season 3 - Disc 3

(I AM SO EXCITED FOR SEASON FIVEEE!)


	16. Girls' Night In

A pencil was in her hand, but it wasn't being cooperative. Sakura stared down at the wooden writing utensil, frowning at it as if she showed enough contempt against it, it might just stop being so stubborn and work. She had a three page paper due about the war in Iraq, and her computer was broken. Broken? Well, more like missing. Long story.

But, it was impossible to write when your hand kept on getting cramped up and the fact that all she could think about was him was driving her nuts. When she was younger, her mother will tell her to stop calling her friends so much. They would call back when they wanted, and no time sooner, and she didn't want to pester Sasuke...but everytime they said something funny on television or she heard a song that she knew he would like, her hand itched for the phone.

A tap came at the window, and Sakura beamed. That could only mean one person.

Sakura set the pencil down, excitingly opening the window. There he was, in the flesh. She grinned, standing with her hands on her lips and allowing him to enter before she closed the window.

"Hi, Sasuke," She greeted him with a peck on the cheek.

"I don't really have time to talk," He said, staring out the window for a few moments. "But, I have a favor to ask."

Sakura, caught off guard, blinked a few times. "A favor? Like what?"

"Shikamaru, Neji, Kakashi, and I are going hunting. And, I don't want you to be alone..." Sasuke began.

"What are you talking about 'alone'?" Sakura asked, blinking. "I have my Dad here. And Ino and Tenten, and Temari and Hinata and everyone at school."

What she really wanted was to go in depth about the whole hunting thing, but honestly, she kissed those lips. As long as he used a little mouth wash after ripping the flesh off of woodland creatures, she didn't want to know what else was in his mouth/on his lips/etc.

"No, that's not what I mean," He shook his head. "I mean the fact that you get into so much damn trouble when I'm not around. So, I want you to come and spend the night with Tenten and Ino."

Sakura practically choked on her very breath.

"A sleepover?"

"Yes." He nodded. "It's just two days, I swear. Maybe even less than that. I just, I feel better knowing that you're with them. Please."

Well, that was about the equivelant of groveling in Sasuke Uchiha world. And it was working for Sakura, dammit.

"But, my Dad...I can try sneaking out like last time, but I mean, come on, he's not the most observant guy in the world, but he'll know when he hasn't seen his daughter for two days," Sakura said, her tone coming out not very convinced, but inside she was getting convinced. More than convinced.

A night at Sasuke's house? Well, he wouldn't be there, but still. Tenten had grown to be someone that Sakura really trusted, even if Ino didn't really seem to care if Sakura was there or not.

"Tell him you'll be out with Temari."

Lie?

Sakura swallowed.

Lying was not her thing.

She looked into his coal eyes, and saw that there was some deep worry there. He was seriously worried about her. She wanted to tell him that she had managed to live this long without him watching over her, but she didn't want to.

"Fine," She said, finally caving.

He grinned, err, well he did his version of a grin.

"Wait there and I'll go tell Kouhei," Sakura told him, heading towards the door, but he put his hand on her shoulder. "I have to leave now, Sakura. I'll miss you."

Sakura felt her stomach flutter with butterflies. "I'll miss you too," She told him, smiling weakly. She kissed him for a few moments, and watched him leave, shut the window, and walked down the steps.

"Hey, Dad..."

---------------------

She was packed for everything she thought she'd need for two days with the Uchihas. Or, the Uchiha females. A yawn escaped her lips as she sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers flicking through a magazine. She normally didn't read this teen trash, but Temari had left it there last time she was over, and right now it was the only thing that Sakura could read to ease her stomach.

Oh, Vera Wang was making a new perfume? Good to know.

Skinny jeans were out for Summer, but in for Fall? Yay. Whoop.

Alright, so this so wasn't calming her anymore. She tossed the magazine aside, staring down at her attire. She looked, presentable. It was a home, after all. Not a Los Angeles bar.

"Sakura! Temari's here!"

Kouhei's voice startled Sakura, and she quickly gathered the tote bag that she was toting over to their home, giving herself one more extra second to glance in the mirror. This would be her first sleepover since she was nine years old at her birthday part. But, this wasn't going to be a real sleepover. More like...being babysat.

G-r-e-a-t.

"Temari got a fancy car," Kouhei whistled, standing at the bay window and staring at the black Mercedes-benz outside, a mug of coffee (or supposedly) in one hand and scratching his neck with the other. "Have fun, sweetheart."

The way he spoke made Sakura regret lying. But only for a moment.

Sakura ran outside, her skin being burned momentarily at the climate change from the toasty inside to the freezing outside. She paused at Tenten's passenger door, waving at her father who was still at his post, and slid in.

"Heya, Sakura," Tenten greeted Sakura, who was turning off the techno dance music that had been playing on the radio.

"Hi, Tenten," Sakura twisted in her seat to see Ino in the backseat. "Hey, Ino."

"Mm, hi," Ino said, more content watching "The Hills" on the DVD player in the back of Tenten's headrests than making conversation with Sakura, obviously.

"Don't mind her," Tenten rolled her eyes. "Shikamaru bought it for her. They fought again. It's a guilt present."

"We did not FIGHT," Ino barked, directing her attention at her housemate for a moment. "He is just a lazy ass hole that cares about nothing but himself."

"Right," Tenten whispered to Sakura, but loudly enough for Ino to hear. "That's why he spoils her and loves her."

Tenten got a kick in the back for that, but she howled with laughter.

Sakura couldn't help but crack a smile. This was going to be an interesting night.

------------------------

Sakura had been to hell. And back. What she was standing in the middle of was not the sophisticated living room that Sasuke had shown her last time she was over. No, this was Sleepover hell.

Of course, if Satan were actually two vampire girls, one brunette and blonde. And instead of being enclosed in eternal flames and screaming and hate, it was pillows, love movies, and bowls of movie theater popcorn (though the only one eating that would be Sakura. Great.) Then yes, she had been to hell.

"Isn't it amazing? We've never had a sleepover before, right Ino?" Tenten asked, her face bubbly with excitement.

"I made the brownies," Ino told Sakura with a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "You better like them. They took forever to make."

"She's in a bad mood. She'll feel better after we watch 'Meet Joe Black', won't we?" Tenten looked over at her sister, and Ino nodded, wiping away a few stray tears.

Did they make a vampire brand of midol?

"Go change into your pajamas and then come back so we can start the movie," Ino instructed, walking up to her bedroom. She grabbed Sakura by the shirt and pulled her upstairs with her.

Ino entered the bedroom, and Sakura followed, eying the room. There were tons of pictures of her and Shikamaru set up in the corner, but right now the large one had a Red 'X" over Shikamaru. Sakura guessed that Ino went through a lot of pictures with the way that they were hot & cold all the time, apparently.

"So, what do you think about him?" Ino asked, stripping herself right in front of Sakura. Sakura cleared her throat, shifting her glance a little so she didn't have to watch the vampiress change from her designer clothing into the purple silk nightgown.

"Um, I don't really have an opinion on him...but if you really love him, I know you'll resolve it--"

"No, not Shikamaru," Ino giggled like what Sakura had said was the funniest thing she had heard. Ever. "I mean Sasuke. Tell me the dirt."

"Um, the dirt?"

"You know, is he a good kisser? All that jazz. Sasuke is the least lover-ish out of all of us, now that you, a funny little mortal is in the picture, it's pretty fun!" She told Sakura. "Why aren't you changing?" She asked.

Sakura blinked, and quickly changed into a tank top and a pair of sweatpants, her usual pajamas. "Well, um, he's a good kisser...maybe we should get back to Tenten..." Sakura cleared her throat, hoping that her face wasn't as pink as it felt. Or as pink as her hair.

"Alright, fine, but after the movie!" Ino told her, leading Sakura back down the stairs.

Was it weird that all of a sudden Ino was showing this immense interest in Sakura? Well, what do they say?

Once a teenager always a teenager.

Or it should be, once a bi-polar blonde teen girl, always a bi-polar blonde teen girl.

-----------------------

When they arrived down stairs, Tenten had let her brown locks drop from their usual style in a somewhat sideways but not really-ponytail and it fell a little past her shoulders. A pair of boyshorts and a long sleeved t-shirt clothed her, serving as her pajamas.

Was this really what a sleepover was?

"Let's watch the movie, now." Tenten said, flopping onto her part of the mosh pit of pillows and blankets that she and Ino had obviously assembled.

The lights were dimmed, the snacks were gathered (for Sakura), and the clicker was lost, and then found again before the movie actually started. Sakura looked over the two girls' faces, illuminated by the light of the television.

She was home. Here.

----------------------------

A/N: I finally got a LiveJournal so I could blog about things and not write such long author's notes. So, I'm really not sure what's going on tomorrow. I'm still going to Apple, and Audrey's coming with me, but I dunno what's going on with the movie. Hopefully Sunday will work for the movie, or maybe something, GAH, I DON'T KNOW. I wanted to say THANK YOU for all the reviews for the last chapter, if you like this one, then review!

Got suggestions, concerns, complaints?

Put 'em in a review. They make me happy.

I'm feeling really emo right now. --

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: "La La Lie" by Jack's Mannequin

CURRENTLY TALKING TO/Was/ talking to Jen, Marley & Stelle on MSN, but I went on away to update.

CURRENTLY READING: "Scrambled Eggs at Midnight" ...almost done! Haha, my friend Luciano went, "I'm sure there's another book coming. Like, 'Scrambed Eggs At Noon'." HAHAHA. Anyway.

CURRENTLY WATCHING: I tried watching more of "One Tree Hill", but like I said, I FEEL EMO ENOUGH.

CURRENTLY LOOKING FORWARD TO: Working out all of the plans for this weekend. Blah.


	17. Tenten's Past

It was the day after the sleepover, and Sakura had really survived. It hadn't been as terrible as she thought it would be. She hadn't suffocated in glitter, at least, not yet—Ino had a strange look in her eye when Sakura got up that morning to wash her face and took a make up bag. Who knew what make over madness could occur, even if this was the dreaded 'morning after the sleepover'?

Sakura needed coffee.

She really, really needed coffee.

But, she didn't think that the Uchihas drank coffee. They probably energized themselves some way. Like, some kind of vampire energy drink. Red Blood? Coca-Cobra?

Ew. She was grossing herself out.

She stared at her reflection in the platinum sink, scrunching her eyes up out of exhaustion, and then allowing herself to look. She had pulled her pink locks into a tight pony tail, then to insure that they stayed like that, she had added a blue thin headband over it. She was still wearing her pajamas, not feeling quite energized or motivated enough to get dressed.

"Looking for something?"

Sakura turned around to see Tenten, a smile bright on her face. Not that that wasn't expected. Sakura knew that Tenten had plenty to cry about or frown about, but she just didn't show it. Or maybe she didn't have such an angsty past, but she was damned to eternal life, and it might be fun to live through everything, but at the same time, the feeling of no escape could possibly drive Sakura to insanity.

"Yeah…" Sakura stifled an awkward laugh, seeing that there was no hair to run her fingers through, she decided to cross her arms over her chest, instead. "You don't happen to have any coffee, do you?" She asked, a joking tone.

"Yes, actually," Tenten said, swiftly moving past Sakura and going to a large cabinet, rescuing a platinum (oh gee, that wasn't surprising) coffee maker and a bag of coffee grinds. "We only have Italian. Do you mind?"

"Oh, no, that's fine." Sakura said, dumbfounded. Tenten began to make the pot, preparing the early morning energizer. Well, so much for Red Blood.

Sakura slid into a bar stool, not wanting to ask to do it herself. Normally, she would. But the coffee pot had way too many buttons on it, and knowing Sakura, she'd break it. Easily. She resisted a yawn and watched as she gracefully prepared it.

"I'm sorry that you had to spend the night with Ino and I," Tenten explained, her back to Sakura but her tone still clear. "Sasuke can be a little, well, protective."

"Oh no, that's fine!" Sakura quickly explained. "I had a really good time. I'm just glad that Ino doesn't hate me." Sakura told her. Her face molded into a dumbfounded look. She didn't share these thoughts with anyone, but for some reason, she felt that she could with Tenten.

"Ino has…Ino has had a rough past." Tenten said, her voice sounding a little less cheery. "We all have."

"Oh."

There was a few moments of silence, but then Tenten appeared with one mug of coffee, setting it down.

"Cream? Sugar?" She offered.

"No," Sakura shook her head. "I like it black."

She laughed. "You really are Sasuke's girlfriend."

They talked about a few things—the weather, a movie that Sakura wanted to see but Sasuke refused, how Tenten's hair was so glossy. It was almost as if they were two teenage girls, just having a cup of coffee…not a vampire and a mortal who were basically house bound.

"Tenten, I have a question for you," Sakura explained, tracing the edge of her coffee mug with her index finger, rubbing her lips together. Aside from Sasuke, Tenten was the one that made her feel most comfortable in the 'family.' She knew she could aks for.

"Go ahead."

"How…" Sakura searched through the words that were available in her mind. "How did you become a vampire?"

Tenten smiled, didn't scream, didn't laugh, didn't cry. She smiled.

"I guess I should tell you the whole story. You don't plan to run off on me, do you?" She asked, her tone was still cheery.

"Nope. I'm here." Sakura laughed.

"Well, I was born…"

-------------------------------------

"_Come on, Tenten!" A five year old boy, with cheeks rosy from the wind and his brown eyes eager, eager for something, anything. "We're going to be late!"_

_The young sixteen year old, an inhabitant of a small countryside village in France for all of her life, smiled and giggled with love. "The leaves aren't going anywhere, Haku. Be patient." But she had to admit, even though she was sixteen years old, she still shared the excitement of playing in the fresh fallen leaves. Fall was her favorite time of year. It always had been._

_Her younger brother, Haku, who had pulled Tenten away from her sewing and cooking, was anxious. This would be first real fall, he had been so sick for the last few years, coming down with the same thing that Haku and Tenten's mother had when she passed away giving birth to a third child. _

_After trudging up the the hill, the two gazed down at the valley below them. There had been many apples trees planted here, but they had grown so tall that their leaves came down, they created a wonderland of red, yellow, and orange leaves...blanketing the ground, as if it were giving the usually pure green grass a taste of what it was in store for for the winter months._

_The two instantly dived in, creating piles and piles of leaves with their hands and jumping back into it, giggling and laughing the whole time. Tenten sighed after an hour or so, laying back in a pile of leaves that she had just dived into. How many more times would she get to do this with Haku? The village's wealthiest man had picked Tenten to be his bride, and it would help her family a great deal if she was married to him, but Tenten's heart just wasn't in the marriage._

_She wanted to play in the leaves with her brother, experience life, not marry some man. He was handsome and all, but he showed no qualities in him that made Tenten yearn to be his. What did he see in her, anyway? He could have had any woman in the whole village, and he picked Tenten--plain, brown haired, thin Tenten. It was almost like taking the plainest rose, ripping it from it's cozy spot deep in the bush, and then laying it out on the pavement._

_A sudden chill swept through Tenten's body. "Haku...we should go back soon."_

_Tenten didn't know what had come over her, but suddenly she had a strange, haunting feeling that told her that the village was in deep turmoil. Tenten always feared these feelings. She had only had this happen to her three times in her life. The first was before their neighbor's house burned to the ground. The second was when Tenten's mother passed away, and the third was when their father lost his job. Bad things only came out of this feeling, Tenten had decided. _

_"Why, Tenten? Winter will come soon and then all the leaves will be gone..." Haku pouted. _

_"Haku, please trust me," She said, the feeling growing stronger, thicker, deeper by the second. _

_The two hurried back to the village to find a sickening event had taken place. Blood and zombie-like bodies hung, stiff in their positions. Haku instantly began crying, as Tenten rushed through the center of town, straining her neck, trying to fight her own tears that were threatening to fall. _

_She arrived at the door step of the small cottage that Haku, Tenten, and their Father lived in. She looked at her small brother, blinking up at her, tears still pouring from his crystal blue eyes. She hated looking into those eyes sometimes, they reminded her so much of her own mother's crystal orbs that she had to turn away. His innocence and his pain stung Tenten's heart, until she finally opened the door._

_There was no blood on the floor, or on the walls, or anywhere._

_Tenten slowly eased into the living room, her jaw dropping into a horrifying state. Her father was lying on the floor, his eyes open, blood shot and not blinking. He looked the same, except his skin was growing grey and he had part of his flesh ripped out, the blood seeming to have been sucked all out, exposing nothing but bone. The site was so horrifying, so scarring, but Tenten couldn't turn away. What...what had happened to everyone she loved in the last two hours she had been away?_

_"Ah, fresh blood." _

_The tone that the three words or so were spoken was not pleasent. Not the type of tone you'd want your pre-school teacher to have or your Grandmother. But a blood curdling, toe curling, eyes-scrunching tone that caused an epidemic of goosebumps to errupt on Tenten's pale skin. Haku still clung to her, silent, afraid._

_"You must be his children," Tenten slowly turned around. The man was not a man, but more of an illustration you'd see in a horror book, or in a horror movie. Well, most of him looked like a man. A man that looked so formal, you might have guessed he was going to a ball or a cotillion. He had cufflings, a white shirt, suit shirt and pants. But when he smiled that grim, horrifying smile, he exposed blood stained teeth._

_Tenten couldn't help but let out a scream of horror, stepping back, Haku still following close to her._

_"This can be easy," The man said, who had been perching on the wall, and landing down on his feet, gracefully. "Or this can be hard. Which do you choose?"_

_"You're not touching my sister!" Haku stepped forward, one hand gripping his sister's skirts and spitting in the direction of the man._

_The vampire became angered. "You were going to be nothing more than half a snack, but now you've just angered me." _

_Tenten watched in horror as her last living relative was taken by the collar. He shot her a frightened icy blue gaze, afraid, but valiant. Too valiant for such a young boy. The vampire, with intense force, threw her little brother into the stone wall, his head cracking with a horrifying 'snap' sound, and his body landing with a thud._

_Tenten was horrified. There they were, dead. And she had nothing to do. She was alone, left to die. _

_"Now, darling...just be patient..." The vampire cornered Tenten, placing his hands at either sides of her hips, and began to sink his teeth into her neck..._

_---------------------------_

_It was the year 1900. A new beginning, for most people. The 1800's were over, and people were free to be whatever they wanted. Times were changing, and people were feeling a wave of change and happiness. But for Tenten, she had been living the past hundred years in utter hell. It hadn't taken her long to figure out what she was, but it had taken her quite a long time to live with it. And she still hadn't._

_Sitting at a bar in Paris, France...she over head a few men chatting drunkenly about the new year._

_"I swear, I will find a woman this year," The heaviest one said, picking up his beer mug, the vile liquid sloshing about at the top._

_"Yeh, how about one this time that doesn't favor the butcher, instead?" The frail, skinny one replied quickly._

_The two laughed heartily while the other shot them a glare._

_Tenten couldn't tear her eyes away. Sick, vile men. They all were. Vampire or not, every man just wanted to fufill their needs. Tenten had to look away in disgust, her glare was soon directed back over at them._

_"Ay, lass, you looking over here?" The third asked._

_Tenten realized they were speaking to her, she looked up, directing her glazed glance at them. "Perhaps."_

_"She's a pretty one," The first man commented. "I bet she'd make a pretty wife."_

_"Maybe not a wife. Too promiscious for that. I bet your arses that she's a wench. Ay, you are a wench, aren't you? Come on, then. Loosen a few of those pretty little buttons and give us here a treat." The second commented, throwing a few gold coins her way. _

_Tenten felt rage over take her body. "You sickening men..." She barred her teeth at them, lunging, but soon she felt male arms take her and pull her towards the back of the bar._

_"Let go of me!" She hissed, ready to sink her teeth into the nearest man. There were three of them, she could make that out, but the mess she was in was making it hard for her to decipher anything else. _

_"Neji, hand me the medication." A wise voice instructed. A small syringe was brought to Tenten's arm and a liquid was injected, causing her body to loosen up._

_Her gaze became clearer, and she saw who they were. _

_"Better?" The man was smiling. _

_"Who...who are you? And what was that?"_

_"I am Kakashi Uchiha," The handsome white haired man told her. "And this is Neji Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha."_

_"What was that that you injected me with?" Tenten stumbled around for a few moments before Neji held onto her shoulder to sturdy her. She mouthed thank you to him, and almost felt herself blush. Blush...she hadn't blushed in over 60 years. _

_"A mix of herbs and animal blood," Kakashi explained. "You see, I understand what you are. A vampire."_

_Tenten nodded, realizing that these men had to be good to help her like that._

_"Well, then. So are we." He gave her a comforting grin. "You're safe with us...if you choose to come travel with us, that is."_

_Tenten swallowed, replaying all of the memories in her head of her brother and her father, and she looked at thethree men. "Yes. I will come with you."_

_-----------------_

_A/N: _Eww, gory chapter much? Anyway, I'm sorry if you were offended by the gore, but I had to. I'm not in a very good mood, so I had to release it somehow. Anyway, I was at home all day today, not feeling very good. As you might have known, Hannah Montana was with Aly & AJ in Michigan yesterday and I knew some people that went, so I hope whoever did go had fun. I was with two of my friends, Courtney and Brooke. Basically, it was a little insane, okay a lot. Anyway. I'm not in a very good mood like I said.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: River God by Nichole Nordeman

CURRENTLY READING: The Girl With The Pearl Ear Ring

CURRENTLY WATCHING: I was watching "The Princess Diaries" and I just finished Disc 5 of One Tree Hill Season 3. Does anyone else think that Pete Wentz can't act for beans?

CURRENTLY LOOKING FORWARD TO: Absolutely nothing.


	18. Have A Holly, Jolly ChristmasPt 1

"Sakura, could you come here for a second?"

It was Christmas Eve. Most families were sitting around with turkeys and cranberry relish, chocolate Christmas trees and shaking wrapped presents to find out what was inside. Well, Sakura's mother and step father were on a cruise in the Bahama's, and Sakura's father had sworn that they were going to do do something nice...like go out to dinner at Denny's or something. Not that Sakura cared, she wasn't really a hard ass on that kind of stuff. She'd rather have a crappy dinner of twice-frozen eggs and dry rye toast than sit in a stiff dress she'd never wear again with a fake smile.

Sakura, (only Sakura) was in a web of wrapping paper and presents to be wrapped for her friends. She had been like this all day, wrapping presents, signing cards--all the while trying to race up and down the stairs to make sure that the cookies she was trying, key word trying, to make were not burning up the kitchen. Sakura was in the _zone. _She had so many presents to wrap, and she was going to get it all done, you watch her.

So she didn't really want to 'come here' even if it was for 'just a second.' But, it was Christmas Eve and even Sakura was stashing away her cynical-ness to be the pleasant daughter that, to be honest, she wasn't. She set down the roll of snow men wrapping paper and scissors, swatting her hand into the air to relieve it of it's cramping as she stepped down the stairs two at a time.

She expected to find her father fixing things under the Christmas tree that they had rescued together, but instead he was hustling around the living room. Sakura leaned against the paneled door way, looking out at him. "What's going on?" she asked, her eyes roaming around the room.

He was frantically shoving papers into his leather brief case, lines of worry visible on his forehead. "Sakura...I'm so sorry..."

Sakura stared at him, not saying anything, just waiting. What was it now? What was he going to let her down about _now? _

"There's been an emergency," her father continued, still shuffling and stuffing. "I have to leave...our latest artist just confirmed that she got pregnant, and she announced it to the public when she promised us she would take care of it...I...ugh, it's a_ crisis." _

"I'm sorry..." Sakura offered, not really knowing what else to say. Pregnant wannabe pop divas weren't really people that Sakura wanted to or did identify with.

"Don't worry, your father always has a back up plan," He said with a grin, shutting the briefcase and holding it at his side. "But...that back up plan involves a plane ticket and me not being here for Christmas Eve."

Sakura felt a burning sensation in her heart. She wasn't really looking forward to this Christmas Eve dinner. She wasn't that excited, it was just going to be going out to dinner with her Dad at a deserted bus stop-like eatery. It was no big deal, but she had to admit, it would be fun seeing her dad relax and laugh with her a little. Maybe he'd be able to talk to Sakura about things they never could bond about over the pitiful dinners that Sakura threw together or the take out.

"I'll be fine, Dad." Sakura replied, hiding the emotion. This was her father's job. He wasn't used to having his teen daughter around. It didn't matter. "Good luck with Plan B."

Her father sighed, exhaling and releasing the apparent tension inside of him. "Thank you so much Sakura...I promise, we'll do something special when I get back."

Sakura was surprised to see that he was already packed and everything. Well, she had just pent herself up in Santa's Sweat Shop of Hell for hours, so she had probably missed quite a lot. He kissed her swiftly on the fore head. Sakura found herself getting angrier as she shut the door. He didn't even drill her on being responsible? What if she decided to call up everyone at her school and have a wild party with sex in his bedroom, alcohol, the tossing of fragile items?

No emergency phone numbers? No putting CDs in the microwave? No suicide attempts?

Damn her and her responsible self.

Sakura, who had mosied to the foot of the stairs, remembered that she had more presents to wrap, and hoisted herself up the stairs and back to the sweatshop.

-----------------------------------------

An hour later, every single present was wrapped. And, if I do say so myself, they all looked pretty freaking good. Sakura, who had collapsed on her bed, was now humming along with the choruses to the Panic! At The Disco album that was playing from her stereo, bouncing a lone tennis ball she had found in the basement onto the wall, catching it, and then tossing it back.

It wasn't exactly a scene from the Charlie fricking Brown Christmas special or something like that--but at least she wasn't laying in the middle of the street, starving or huddled over once of those homeless people's fires. There was one person that she really wanted to be with, but he had said that he had something else going on.

He was A VAMPIRE. Did vampires even CELEBRATE Christmas?! Sakura highly doubted that they were sitting around that massive, regal wood table eating a Christmas dinner with the green been casserole and all.

...And even if they were, they would have at least invited Sakura, right?!

She let out a frustrated cry/scream/moan. It was a pretty frightening sound, but it was amusing. And as most of you may know, when you're bored, basically anything that can cure your boredom is welcome.

"That was nice, Sakura. Are you training to be a bird caller?"

Sakura turned to see the handsome vampire that she called her boyfriend. Sakura turned as pink as her hair, but stood up and smacked him on the arm. "You don't hide in my room, okay? Who knows. You could've been some kind of crazy serial killer or rapist and I wouldn't have known and I wouldn't chopped your head off with..." She looked around the room for some pointy object to prove her point.

"With what?" He asked slyly. "With this frightening watch?" He held up a watch that her mother sent her, pink and covered in sequins. "Or with this empty carton of spimoni?"

"OKAY, okay," She barked, implying that she was annoyed, but really she was over joyed. Sasuke! It was really him. "So maybe I wouldn't have cut their head off, but could you at least try the front door? Maybe? Sometime?"

"Would your father be too happy about me coming at..." He looked at the digital clock next to Sakura's bed. "Ten thirty at night? You know, you might miss Santa."

"I was waiting up for him, and look," She replied quickly, dropping her mouth into a fake state of surprise. "He came." She said, nudging his leg with her toe. "And about my Dad, he's not here. He had some kind of pregnant pop star emergency."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"Don't ask."

"I won't," Sasuke replied, placing his hands on Sakura's shoulders, kneeding her finger tips into her flesh. "But, you look tense. It's Christmas Eve and apparently that's a happy time, so you should be happy."

Sakura, who normally hated being touched for long, couldn't argue against his touch or the delectable massage he was giving her. "Feel...Christmas cheer...coming back."

He grinned grimly. "Come here, I have something for you."

---------------

A/N: Yeah, I know I suck, I haven't updated in forever. There's a lot going on at my house. I'm the co-owner of a band's street team in my state, and I'm trying to get over the stomach flu. My sister and I both had it last week, now my dad and my mom have it, so we're trying to help them get over it.

CURRENTLY FEELING: Nostalgia, anyone?

CURRENTLY MUSIC: Dismantle Repair by Anberlin. Ugh.../


	19. Have A Holly, Jolly ChristmasPt 2

"Um, Sasuke." Sakura groaned. "I can't really see her."

"Usually that's the point of a blind fold, my dear," Sasuke chuckled to himself. The handsome vampire flipped some of his black hair behind his ear. "Now just hold onto me, I promise I won't drop you."

Sakura was easing herself down the stair case, having refused to be carried around by Sasuke. Of course was not going to let him charter her around like some kind of pony - she had two legs, they could work on their own!

As Sakura tried to navigate down the oak staircase of her Father's home, she groaned to herself, inching step by step down the stairs. What could Sasuke possibly have planned for her? It was too much already, him coming here to surprise her and everything.

She doubted that Nick Jonas was going to pop out of a cake in a stripper's costume, not to mention she didn't think any kind of strippers were going to jump out at her. Maybe Sasuke would, but she'd have to beg for that Christmas present a little later.

Sakura was almost at the bottom of the stair case when she toppled over. Sasuke was behind her, but somehow he had managed to swiftly maneuver himself in front of her. She fell into his arms, catching her breath and not exhaling until she heard his warm chuckle.

"I swear, one of these days, you're really going to get seriously hurt." He murmured into her ear, his cool breath stinging her ear lobe.

"Not with you around," She retorted back playfully, ripping the blindfold off. What she saw around her made her want to catch her breath, but it was as if she had forgotten how to breathe. She closed her eyes for a moment, opening them up once more to see what Sasuke had set up.

Her father's chic living room had been transformed into a winter wonderland. It was like a picture out of one of those cheesy Christmas movies - the fire roaring in the fireplace, a majestic Christmas tree erected in the corner, even wrapped presents underneath.

"I think that this all perfect." Sakura whispered to him, looking up at the marblesque figure next to her. "But, it's missing one thing."

"What's that?" Sasuke turned to her, his eyes afraid that he had missed one detail.

"The mistletoe." Sakura whispered.

Sasuke slapped a sly smirk onto his face, inching closer to Sakura and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I don't need a plant to be able to kiss you." He leaned forward, and his cool lips made contact with hers.

Merry freaking Christmas.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So yes! This chapter sucks, and it's incredibly short, but I wanted to make sure that there was signs of life out there. I needed to get back into the swing of this story since it's been like what, a year since I've updated or something psycho insane like that? So anyway! Give your opinions on the chapter (if you want, but be nice, oh God PLEASE be nice. xD) and I'll totally take your suggestions into mind. :] Love you lots! And Happy 2009!

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO; "The Nature of the Experiment" by Tokyo Police Club.

WHAT I DID TODAY; Went and saw "Yes Man" with my best friend Olivia and now I'm waiting for my friends Kristen and Brittany to come over tonight!


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